Plaid Cymru Senedd member Cefin Campbell joined striking ambulance service staff on their picket line in Carmarthen today, 23 January.

Today marks the second 24-hour strike undertaken by Unite union members of the Welsh Ambulance Service and follows a strike last Thursday, 19 January, which saw around 1,000 paramedics, medical technicians and call handling staff taking action right across Wales.

Plaid MS for Mid & West Wales Cefin Campbell MS said: “I welcomed the opportunity to join striking ambulance staff on the picket line in Carmarthen today and hear directly from frontline staff about the immense pressures they face.

“Our ambulance staff are forced to undertake heroic work under extremely challenging circumstances, and I fully support them as they take a principled stand against a real terms pay cut and the unrelenting crisis in their working conditions.

“From visiting the picket, it was also so heartening to see the level of public support towards our striking ambulance staff.

“We know the Tories in Westminster have starved Wales’ budgets for thirteen years, but it's Labour who are responsible for health in Wales.

"The Welsh Government must use all the levers at their disposal to deliver a fairer pay award and to improve working conditions for our hardworking NHS staff.”

Unite members voted by a margin of 88% to strike over the well below inflation pay offer which has escalated the staffing crisis engulfing the Welsh NHS.

Plaid Cymru has called on the Welsh Government’s Health Minister to engage in meaningful pay negotiations, commensurate with the ever-increasing pressures on frontline staff.

 

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