- Unison persuades 9.5% of eligible members to vote for today’s walkout
- 400,000 nurses, midwives and others threaten to bring NHS to a halt
- Turnout figures increase pressure for urgent reform of union powers
- Soldiers and police officers have been called in to drive ambulances
Ben Spencer
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James Slack
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Daniel Martin for the Daily Mail
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Midwife:Â Fewer than half those balloted for the controversial health strike voted in favour of the action (picture posed by model)
Hundreds of thousands of health workers will cause chaos in the NHS today by walking out of hospitals despite only a fraction of them voting to strike over pay.
Fewer than half those balloted for the controversial health strike voted in favour of the action, the Daily Mail can reveal.
And Unison, one of the biggest unions, could persuade fewer than one in ten – 9.5 per cent – of eligible members to vote for the controversial walkout.
None of the other trade organisations involved managed to get a mandate from more than half of those balloted.
Yet 400,000 nurses, midwives, paramedics, specialist health staff and hospital porters threaten to bring the Health Service to a halt.
The damning turnout figures, which increase pressure for the urgent reform of unions’ powers, are published as the NHS faces being brought to a standstill this morning.
Soldiers and police officers have been called in to drive ambulances, taking the place of trained staff.
Jason Killens, London Ambulance director of operations, said: ‘We are expecting to be under significant pressure.’
Picket lines were mounted outside hospitals and ambulance stations across England at 7am, and will stay in place for four hours.
Midwives, nurses and other health workers mounted a noisy protest outside St Thomas’ hospital opposite Parliament in Westminster.
Most passing cars, buses and lorries tooted in support and patients arriving for appointments said they backed the action.
Midwives shouted: ‘Don’t push midwives – push fair pay.’
They said they never imagined having to go on strike but were at their wits’ end.
Annie Black, who has been a midwife for 12 years, said: ‘We haven’t had a pay rise for years yet our workload keeps on increasing. It’s time the Government took us seriously. It’s weird being on strike, but we feel that enough is enough.’Â
Several unions will be involved in the action over pay, including the Royal College of Midwives for the first time in its history.
Jane Cummings, NHS England’s chief nursing officer, said: ‘We would ask the public to help, for example, by only calling an ambulance if it is a life-threatening situation.’Â
Militant union leaders are furious they have been denied a one per cent salary rise.Â
But turnout data suggests they have failed to capture the full support of their members.Â
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Conservative MP Dominic Raab, who calculated the figures, said: ‘It is totally wrong for militant union leaders to be striking, putting the NHS at risk.Â
‘Everyone in the NHS will be getting a 1 per cent pay rise, and most low and middle income staff substantially more. Â
‘This explains why not one of the striking unions has the support of a majority of its members, with Unison mustering less than 10 per cent support.Â
‘The hardliners need to take a long hard look in the mirror – they are hurting their members, the NHS and the wider public.’
Health secretary Jeremy Hunt the Government has been prepared to talk to the unions throughout the row.
He said: ‘We will talk to them if they’re prepared to look to reform the system of increments, which is unclear and unfair.
‘I recognise frontline staff do a magnificent job in the NHS. We have had more than 650 NHS volunteers who are willing to put themselves in harm’s way to help tackle the Ebola crisis in West Africa.Â
Unimpressed: Conservative MP Dominic Raab (above), who calculated the figures, said the ‘hardliners need to take a long hard look in the mirror – they are hurting their members, the NHS and the wider public’
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