Fears of Christmas chaos as more workers vote to strike

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Fears of a chaotic Christmas were growing tonight, with votes from paramedics, rail staff and Eurostar security guards to make strike over wages and conditions.

The poll results came as Royal Mail workers, university teachers and sixth form college staff picketed in dozens of places across the UK United on one of the biggest days of industrial action in recent years.

As letter and parcel deliveries were disrupted and delayed, Royal Mail chief executive Simon Thompson, accused the Communications Workers Union of doing "everything they can to destroy Christmas". But CWU General Secretary Dave Ward countered that the bosses "risked a Christmas meltdown over their stubborn refusal to treat their employees with respect".

Already, nurses, civil servants and drivers in buses have voted to take part in walkouts expected to involve hundreds of thousands of workers over the next few months.

And ballots are planned on industrial action by other groups, including young doctors and firefighters.

More than 10,000 ambulance workers - including paramedics, emergency care assistants and call handlers today voted to strike at nine trusts in England and in Wales over a 4% offer described by the GMB union as "a massive pay cut in real terms".

"Paramedics - like other NHS workers - are at knees," GMB national secretary Rachel Harrison said.

"I It's as much about unsafe staffing levels and patient safety as it is about compensation. A third of GMB paramedics believe the delays they were involved in resulted in the death of a patient.

“Something has to change or the service as we know it will crumble. "

The news follows a vote on Tuesday for industrial action by thousands of 999 Unison-owned call handlers, EMTs and paramedics.

And no less than 300,000 nurses are set to join unprecedented walkouts approved in the first such ballot in the Royal College of Nursing's 106-year history.

Meanwhile, the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association ( TSSA) has announced action at Network Rail and 12 rail operators, coinciding with walkouts by RMT rail workers.

TSSA walkouts will take place at Avanti West Coast on 13, 14, 16 and 17 December , and at c2c in Essex on December 17, while non-strike action will take place at p From December 13, with member...