AMBULANCE staff across Devon are from today voting on whether to take strike action.

The GMB union has announced that its 15,000 members will be balloted.

A union spokesperson said: ‘Ambulance workers have been telling the Government for years things are unsafe.

‘No-one is listening.

‘More than 15,000 ambulance workers across 11 trusts in England and Wales begin voting on strike action today, Monday.’

Workers in the South West Ambulance Service will be taking part in the ballot which closes on November 29.

‘Thousands more NHS workers will also be balloted across other NHS trusts, with more votes set to follow,’ said the spokesperson.

‘Workers are angry over the Government’s imposed four per cent pay award – another massive real terms pay cut – as well as unsafe staffing levels across the ambulance service.’

Rachel Harrison, GMB Acting National Secretary, said: ‘Ambulance workers don’t do this lightly – and this would be the biggest ambulance strike for 30 years.

‘But more than ten years of pay cuts, plus the cost-of-living crisis, means workers can’t make ends meet. They are desperate.

‘But 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.

‘Ambulance workers have been telling the Government for years things are unsafe.

‘No-one is listening. What else can they do?’