Suella Braverman has been accused of “desperate strike-breaking” over plans to make the military cover for striking Border Force officers.
The Home Secretary is thought to have asked for hundreds of Armed Forces personnel to join ports and airports after Border Force workers backed a walkout over pay and pensions.
According to The Guardian, the personnel will get less than a week of training to work at Dover’s ferry port and Heathrow Airport - compared to at least three weeks for a Border Force guard.
Training will begin within weeks, Whitehall sources told her paper, after Public and Commercial Services union members in 126 areas of government backed strikes.
The union has warned it will agree a "programme of sustained industrial action” unless "substantial proposals" are received by the Government by next Friday.
Former defence minister John Spellar told the Mirror he had met resistance when he tried to call in the military to tackle fuel protests under Tony Blair.
The Labour MP added: “They very much do not like getting involved in industrial disputes.
“They’re also being used willy-nilly in a way they shouldn’t be, particularly when there have been cuts to their numbers and there is a major security situation in Europe.
“If they have got spare troops they should be putting them in Estonia.”
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: "This is pure desperation by Suella Braverman.
“Time and again, the military has been clear it has its own job to do and doesn’t want to spend time covering for the government's failures.
“The government's attempts to recruit a strike-breaking workforce from within the civil service has also clearly failed, which is no surprise when it continues to treat its workforce with contempt, offering them only a 2% pay rise.
“Instead of scrambling around for increasingly desperate solutions, the government should sit down with us at the negotiating table and agree a fair pay rise for workers who helped carry this country through the pandemic."
A union official told the Guardian: “This is a strike-busting move by a government that is supposed to be coming up with a new offer. It is frankly despicable.
“It also means that people will be given a few days’ training and then will be expected to deal directly with asylum seekers and members of the public.
“It is not fair on the military to rush them through training, and it is not fair on the public who expect better.”
Strike action will reach "into every corner of public life", the union has said, with huge impacts on Jobcentres, passport officers, and Border Force officials.
General Secretary Mark Serwotka said: “The government must look at the huge vote for strike action across swathes of the Civil Service and realise it can no longer treat its workers with contempt.
“We are calling on the government to respond positively to our members’ demands. They have to give our members a 10% pay rise, job security, pensions justice and protected redundancy terms."
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are disappointed that the union has voted in favour of industrial action.
“Our priority will always be to keep our citizens safe and borders secure, and we will not compromise on this.
“As the public would expect, we have plans in place to minimise potential disruption during possible strike action, while still carrying out essential checks.”
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “We have received a request from the Home Office and are considering it in line with military aid to the civil authorities (Maca) principles.
“No decisions have been made yet.”
