AMBULANCE bosses have approved a three-year plan to bring in a single rate of pay for staff.

It follows a protest outside Ladybridge Hall, Bolton -- headquarters for the Greater Manchester Ambulance Service -- earlier today.

Unison, representing 200 ambulance staff in Greater Manchester, were disappointed that moves to equalise pay would not happen until 2002.

The union has been pressing for it tobe backdated to April 2001.

Protesters lobbied GMAS Trust board members to discuss the wage crisis in their campaign for a single wage, claiming there are three rates of pay across Bolton.

Angry ambulance workers are threatening to withdraw overtime and goodwill if the new pay structure is not backdated.

This will be decided in September after further talks have been held between GMAS and Unison.

Stephanie Thomas, who is the regional officer for Unison, is calling for a whole new financial structure for the ambulance service.

After the meeting, she said: "It is obscene the way the fleet is financed. It should be taken over by the Department of Health.

"It is up to GMAS to fulfil its commitment of talking to hospitals to ensure that the funding is made available as they have promised."

Yet GMAS say it is unable to introduce equal pay until it has approached the Royal Bolton Hospital which buys its services.

John Williams, director of human resources at GMAS, said: "Everything we have done for the past seven years has been in full consultation with Unison and our staff.

"We worked together during the competitive tendering era and we will work together in our plan to produce one rate for our staff."

There are currently three levels of pay in Bolton for non-emergency ambulance workers ranging from £4.79 an hour to £6.24 an hour.

Eamonn Glover, who works at Highfield Station and is on the lowest rate of pay, said: "I think we would be ready to withdraw our overtime and goodwill.

"We are all angry at the way we have been ignored by GMAS. This has been going on for a number of years.

"It causes ill feeling among staff. We do the same job, wear the same uniform, so why do we have to get a lower rate of pay?"

Julie Connally, of Bury Ambulance Station, said: "If we withdraw goodwill, the service will collapse like a pack of cards. We don't want to hurt the patients. Without us, they would be unable to get to hospital."