DAY OF ACTION Senior UNISON duty officer

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1 Can I take full strike action? Q&A v2 Members in OOH/urgent care control, clinical/triage advisors and EOC dispatch teams are exempted from action. All other members should participate in the Day of Action. Will I get paid? If you take full strike action then you will not be paid. UNISON (in conjunction with the TUC who are coordinating the Day of Action) have requested that members in the ambulance service agree to provide life and limb cover. UNISON has negotiated with GWAS and members who provide the life and limb cover will be paid normally. So I could take full strike action, rather than provide life and limb cover? Yes. I d like to protest by not using Terrafix or radio. Can I do that? Please only do one of the two approved options: Full strike action (unpaid) or provide life and limb cover (paid). What are the other unions doing? We understand that 18 members of staff from GMB are taking full strike action. APAP members voted not to strike. It doesn t matter which union you are a member of, UNISON respects your decision and looks forward to shaking hands with you on the picket line. I can t afford to strike, what help is there for me? UNISON Great Western Ambulance Branch has set up a hardship fund to support members who lose pay as a result of this day of action. Members who choose to strike (or who need to strike due to child care commitments) can apply to this fund if they suffer a hardship as a result of losing pay. I m providing life and limb cover but still feel for my colleagues who are striking. How can I support them? If you are providing the life and limb cover described above then you will be paid. We are asking you to donate this pay to the hardship fund. I can t afford to donate my whole day s pay to the hardship fund! Please consider donating a proportion of your wages to the fund.

2 How do I donate to the fund? You can do this by sending funds direct to the bank account number sort code or sending a cheque made payable to UNISON Great Western Ambulance Branch to: UNISON Great Western Ambulance Branch 8 Manor Farm Crescent Bradley Stoke South Gloucestershire BS32 9BD. Please mark the payment clearly with hardship fund. How will the hardship fund be used? The fund will be used to support staff who would otherwise encounter hardship as a result of the Day of Action. We will give particular consideration to members who were unable to attend work due to childcare problems, members with financial problems, members who have partners who were also striking and members in lower pay bands. To apply for hardship funds, please write to the above address or anne.hughes@unison-greatwestern.co.uk providing details of the pay you lost and the hardship experienced. I m working a night/late shift that goes into the 30 th. What will happen? The Day of Action starts at midnight so you will commence strike action or life and limb cover from then. You will simply report for duty as normal and book on as usual. Work normally for the first portion of your shift. At some point in the shift OOH, PTS and A&E crews should be asked by control, are you taking action? Answer yes. From midnight you will only be tasked with life and limb cover. I m working a late or night shift on the 30 th. Does the action continue beyond midnight? No. Whether you are taking full strike action or providing life and limb cover, you will need to work normally from midnight.

3 I am scheduled to work with a non-member who is not taking action. What will happen? If you are working with someone who is not taking action, GWAS will treat you as a crew that is taking action. If it is reasonably practical, GWAS may swap some crews around. However it is agreed that members will work from their scheduled stations and crew or vehicle movements do not form life and limb cover. Do the same guidelines apply to overtime, or would I have to perform full duties as normal? We wouldn t expect you to come in on overtime during the Day of Action. If you are considering doing so because of hardship reasons, please consider applying to the hardship fund instead. If you are working overtime for any other reason, please consider donating to the hardship fund. My child s school will be closed. I can t come to work. What should I do? Please join the Day of Action by visiting a picket or one of the many demonstrations and events across the GWAS area with your children. Please see our website or Facebook page for more details. Will I be stuck on a freezing cold, wet picket line in the middle of the night? We can t guarantee the weather! However GWAS has agreed with UNISON that members will be given full, normal access to trust property. The picket lines will run during the day shift and during this time members can still choose to use the facilities on station crew room, refreshments, toilets, etc. Picketing resources (posters, leaflets, placards, etc.) will be delivered to the following workplaces: Bath, Bristol, Devizes tricontrol, Filton NBTS, GTEC, Stroud, Swindon and Weston. If any other members want resources for a workplace picket, please yourvoice@greatwestern.co.uk. We will be informing the authorities of the locations of pickets so we do need some notice. I m a team leader/manager. Can I do admin duties or other managerial tasks? That is not classed as life and limb cover, unless it specifically relates to the life and limb activities or supporting members engaged in life and limb cover (e.g. PTS team leader supporting a crew at a hospice, CTL/OSM attending a mutli-agency incident arising from a 999 call.)

4 I ve seen a manager removing UNISON information/posters about the Day of Action. What should I do? GWAS has agreed that managers will not interfere with UNISON information & resources about the Day of Action. If you witness this, please let us know and we will remind the managers directly. It is vital that they do not remove any information as it could disrupt the carefully planned life and limb cover that we have agreed with GWAS. I m not working on 30 th November. What shall I do? Members who are not scheduled to be at work on 30 th November are invited to join a picket or one of the many demonstrations and events across the GWAS area. Please see our website or Facebook page for more details. I can t spare the whole day! Please spare a little time to come along to the picket, show your support or attend one of the marches or rallies. You are welcome even for a short time. Especially if you bring cake! What will the atmosphere be like? UNISON and GWAS expect there to no bullying or harassment of any member of staff, whether member or non-member, employee or manager. Children are welcome to accompany their families to join the picket lines and demonstrations. Many of the events will be designed with kids in mind! If you have ever been on a union march you will remember the party atmosphere! Even if you are supplying life and limb cover, please take time to support the pickets when you can. In the unlikely event that any member perceives they are being bullied or harassed for whatever reason, they must immediately contact the senior UNISON officer ( ) in the GWAS gold control room. The best way to experience the great camaraderie and feel part of the national Day of Action is to join one of the marches and rallies being held around the area. Please see our website or Facebook page for more details.

5 EVENTS Bristol: The TUC are organising a huge Fair Pensions for All march and rally. The march assembles at 1100 on College Green and arrives at Castle Park (by Bristol ambulance station) at 1230 for the rally where there will be entertainments, speakers and children s activities. The whole event is familyfriendly and we are encouraging members to bring their children along. After the rally the NUT are hosting and event at The Lanes, 22 Nelson Street, Bristol BS1 2LE to give members a chance to eat, meet, relax and network. After the event you can join the picket at nearby Bristol station. In the evening it would be a good chance to continue the party atmosphere and support another great cause by joining the GWAS Movember fundraisers at The Golden Guinea (by the Bristol General Hospital),19 Guinea Street, Bristol from Bath: Gather at 1300 in Royal Victoria Park, Marlborough Lane, Bath BA1 2NQ for a march starting at 1400 to a rally at Chippenham: Join the members of UNISON, PCS, NUT, GMB, ATL and more for a rally at Chippenham Sports Club (Chippenham Town FC), Bristol Road, Chippenham, Wiltshire SN15 1NH at Gloucester: The march assembles at 1300 outside Shire Hall and proceeds to Gloucester Park for a rally at Taunton: Union members will be meeting from 1200, ahead of the march, commencing at 1230 at the Old Cattle Market, Canal Road in Taunton. It will proceed through the town centre (rolling road closure), ending in a rally at the green outside the County Hall, The Crescent, Taunton. Trowbridge: Demonstration at 1130 outside Wiltshire Council Offices, Bradley Road, Trowbridge BA14 0RD. Swindon: The march assembles at 1000 at 10 Canal Wharf before marching at 1020 along Commercial Road, and then ending at an indoor rally in the MECA theatres from 1100 until 1230.