MORE than 15,000 ambulance workers across 11 trusts in England and Wales are voting on industrial action.

Workers feel the imposed four per cent pay award is massive real terms pay cut as well as having unsafe staffing levels across the ambulance service.

GMB acting national secretary, Rachel Harrison said: “Ambulance workers don’t do this lightly - and this would be the biggest ambulance strike for 30 years. But more than 10 years of pay cuts, plus the cost-of-living crisis, means workers can’t make ends meet. They are desperate. 

"This is much more about patient safety at least as much about pay. Delays up to 26 hours and 135,000 vacancies across the NHS mean a third of GMB ambulance workers think a delay they’ve been involved with has led to a death. 

She added: “Ambulance workers have been telling the Government for years things are unsafe. No one is listening. What else can they do?” 

This will affect workers from South West and Wales, South Central, London, East of England, East and West Midlands, North East Yorkshire and the North West. 

The vote will close on Tuesday, November 29.