It is “not fair” that armed forces personnel are having to cover for striking workers over the festive period, Cabinet minister Oliver Dowden has said. The Chancellor the Duchy of Lancaster urged unions to call off the industrial action and “give the military a break this Christmas”.
He insisted ministers will remain “resolute” in their stance on public sector pay despite nurses threatening further disruption in the new year. Mr Dowden, who last week chaired two Cobra meetings on the issue, said the Government is “always willing to talk” with the unions, but resisted calls for inflation-busting wage hikes, warning they would end up making everyone poorer.
It comes as ministers have announced controversial plans to deploy 1,200 troops to cover for striking ambulance drivers and border staff this winter, alongside more than 1,000 civil servants. Unions have branded the military deployment a “desperate measure”.
