Downing Street has warned the country to brace itself for “significant” disruption from strikes later this week, as ministers signalled they are not willing to compromise with unions on pay.
Ministers will today meet senior representatives of the armed forces and NHS at the emergency Cobra committee to discuss mitigation measures to ease the impact of industrial action by health workers and Border Force staff.
Thousands of military personnel are set to be deployed to drive non-urgent ambulances and check passports at airports, while civil servants are also due to step in to carry out services normally provided by striking workers.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak’s official spokesperson said that today’s meeting – chaired by Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden – will not discuss union pay claims at or above inflation, insisting that these are a matter for employers.
Downing Street has rejected a call from Mick Lynch, general secretary of the RMT rail union, for a face-to-face meeting with Mr Sunak.
The PM’s official spokesman said: “We are not seeking to impose government over and above either the independent pay review process or ongoing discussions between employers and the unions.
“We won’t be changing the process.”
Health secretary Steve Barclay was willing to meet the leadership of the Royal College of Nursing, but will not discuss pay with them, he said.
“The position on pay has not changed, that’s rightly for an independent review body to decide.”
The spokesperson said that it was “concerning” that unions are co-ordinating industrial action in different sectors, which he said would “exacerbate the misery” faced by the public.
He issued an appeal to unions to call off strikes planned for the coming days, saying it was not to late for them to step back from industrial action.
The spokesperson rejected suggestions that the UK is “not working”, telling reporters: “The government is introducing a number of mitigations this week to try to reduce the disruption we expect to see.
“This will be a challenging number of days because of the strike action the unions are taking. But it is up to them and they can still step back if they so wish”
Formal requests have been made for the NHS and Border Force to use the military aid to the civil authorities (Maca) protocol to keep key services running during major winter walkouts, Downing Street confirmed.
The PM’s spokesperson said: “There’s a formal Maca request in for the NHS, so that means military personnel being deployed to help hospital trusts across the country ahead of ambulance strikes, and I believe they’re also due to support Border Force at the borders.”
It is understood that military personnel will not be used to drive ambulances under blue lights in emergencies, but will get behind the wheel for non-urgent trips. There is no suggestion of troops being deployed during rail strikes.
“They can help alleviate pressures to free up paramedics and other people with the necessary skills so they can carry on treating patients and get where they need to be,” said the PM’s spokesperson.
“Clearly we are not suggesting that there won’t be serious disruption caused by strikes.
“These individuals are going to be extremely helpful in mitigating some of that disruption, but nonetheless, it will have an impact.”
He added: “Ther will be significant disruption to the service the NHS is able to provide to the public if strike action goes ahead. The public should be prepared for disruption.”
The spokesperson said it was “concerning to hear talk of co-ordinated action, as it only seeks to exacerbate the misery it inflicts upon the public”.
He added: “That is fundamentally a decision for unions. We think we are acting reasonably in accepting the recommendations of independent pay bodies. We believe it is unaffordable to provide doube-digit pay rises.”
