Chris Cannon, Liverpool North Socialist Party
After two gruelling years of dispute and 35 days on the picket line, the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) call centre educators, members of Unison, have secured a monumental victory.
This hard-fought struggle was characterised by unwavering solidarity in the face of employer indifference.
For 24 months, the educators were met with a wall of corporate dismissal. Management repeatedly claimed that the strike was ‘having no effect’ on the Trust’s ability to deliver 999 and 111 training courses. They were explicitly informed that they would receive nothing.
However, the educators knew the truth: that their labour is the backbone of the emergency response system. They proved that no service can function without the specialised knowledge of those who train the frontline.
While the 9% recruitment and retention premium is not being reinstated, the settlement reached in April, via ACAS, represents a significant climbdown by NWAS leadership.
Affected educators will each receive a payment of up to £8,000. You don’t pay out thousands of pounds per worker if a strike ‘isn’t working’!
This victory is a testament to the Unison members who refused to be intimidated – even when an employer has dug in their heels for two years, collective action can break the deadlock.
The £8,000 victory isn’t just a win for their bank accounts; it’s a win for the dignity of every worker who has been told they are replaceable. “They told us we were shouting into the wind. This payout proves they were listening the whole time – they just didn’t want to pay up until we forced their hand.”
