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7 January 2011
Last updated at 04:00 ET
Great Western Ambulance Service staff in Bristol, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and parts of Somerset have voted in favour of industrial action.
Unison held the ballot after a row over pay and conditions with their employer, Great Western Ambulance NHS Trust.
The union claimed some workers could face pay cuts and non-peak cover in areas such as Bristol, Gloucester, Bath and Trowbridge could be "slimmed down".
Unison said it planned to meet the NHS trust later.
Simon Newell, of Unison, said: "Members have not taken any action up until now, but the results clearly demonstrate that our members feel these changes are detrimental to their working conditions.
'Saving lives' "With the help of Acas, we hope to reach an amicable resolution with the trust on Friday.
"However, with over 96% of our members saying 'yes' to some form of action, our members have left us no doubt what our next steps should be."
David Whiting, chief executive of Great Western Ambulance Service, said: "The changes we are making are about saving more lives.
"We are taking on additional frontline staff and looking to make our existing staff more effective by increasing their availability at the busiest times - particularly evenings and weekends.
"This is not about job cuts and it is not about cutting salaries.
"We believe that the majority of staff understand the need for these changes, indeed less than a quarter of our A&E road crews voted for strike."
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Unison held the ballot after a row over pay and conditions with their employer, Great Western Ambulance NHS Trust.
The union claimed some workers could face pay cuts and non-peak cover in areas such as Bristol, Gloucester, Bath and Trowbridge could be "slimmed down".
Unison said it planned to meet the NHS trust later.
Simon Newell, of Unison, said: "Members have not taken any action up until now, but the results clearly demonstrate that our members feel these changes are detrimental to their working conditions.
'Saving lives' "With the help of Acas, we hope to reach an amicable resolution with the trust on Friday.
"However, with over 96% of our members saying 'yes' to some form of action, our members have left us no doubt what our next steps should be."
David Whiting, chief executive of Great Western Ambulance Service, said: "The changes we are making are about saving more lives.
"We are taking on additional frontline staff and looking to make our existing staff more effective by increasing their availability at the busiest times - particularly evenings and weekends.
"This is not about job cuts and it is not about cutting salaries.
"We believe that the majority of staff understand the need for these changes, indeed less than a quarter of our A&E road crews voted for strike."
Online Business Consulting | Internet Business Consulting