News

Emergency — dial 1992

The country’s first union pay claim to take account of Europe 1992 has been submitted to the Ambulance Council.

The 1989 union claim for improved pay and conditions, jointly presented by COHSE, GMB, NUPE and TGWU, takes account of the move to standard qualifications for key health staff throughout the EC. We should ‘relate developments within the UK to comparable economies in Europe,’ it says.

While recognising international comparisons are not always straightforward the claim points out that the basic ambulance pay paid in the Federal Republic of Germany works out at £10,800 a year — significantly higher than that of qualified ambulance personnel in Britain.

The claim points out (see table) that ambulance pay continues to lag behind that of the other emergency services — the police and fire brigade — and that the gap has steadily widened.

Among the unions’ claims are:

• A substantial increase in pay with the establishment of an acceptable pay formula for determining increases in the future;
• The re-introduction of premium rates for overtime;
• An increase in standby allowances to bring them in line with those paid for ambulance officers;
• A reduction in working time;
• The introduction of long service pay.

Roger Poole, the unions’ chief negotiator, said: ‘We are already witnessing problems in recruitment and keeping staff of the required calibre. This problem is likely to worsen over the next 10 years with the increased elderly population coupled with the sharp fall in school leavers.’

’It may be that people will find the option of working abroad for better pay an irresistible attraction.’