A DISPUTE over tea break conditions in the Scottish Ambulance Service looks set to continue after paramedics rejected a new offer.
The GMB union yesterday said the row was no closer to ending after 82% of its members voted against the new proposals in a ballot.
The offer included plans for a lump-sum payment of £250 a year and a £50 bonus every time a paramedic was called out to an incident during a break.
However, GMB claims the plans do not deal with the issue effectively and has called for more resources to be made available.
Senior union organiser Mick Conroy said: “GMB members have voted by 82% to reject the latest offer as it does not deal with the core of the problem, which is that the members want to be on duty at all times to serve the Scottish public.
“This issue is not about pay, it is about ensuring the Scottish Ambulance Service has the resources and the policies to provide a proper emergency service to the people of Scotland.
“The Scottish Government must realise that when people in Scotland call an ambulance in an emergency it should turn up and that meal breaks should not come into it.”
Unions Unite and Unison are also involved in negotiations and are currently in the process of balloting their members, with results expected later this month.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Ambulance Service said: “Once responses have been received from all three unions this month, we will consider the most appropriate course of action.”
The rejection from GMB comes as the service faced controversy over faults in its control room.
A telephone fault meant that a 999 call for a heart attack patient in Hawick was delayed by BT for five minutes before being connected to the control room. Although an ambulance was at the scene within 17 minutes, the patient did not survive.
Scottish Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary Jackie Baillie has now called for a fatal accident inquiry into the death.
She said: “The 999 number is a lifeline service that Scots should be able to depend on 24/7 – but has failed time and time again.
“When lives are at stake – and may have been lost – it is negligent of the Health Secretary that, despite repeated warnings, this problem is not resolved. ”
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