Army fury as soldiers ordered to sacrifice Christmas to cover for striking workers
8 December 2022, 00:46 | Updated: 8 December 2022, 06:29
Military personnel are furious after being ordered to sacrifice their Christmas to cover striking workers.
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The government is turning to the Armed Forces to stand in for Border Force officers at airports as well as training them up to help frontline health workers.
But the military believes it is "not right" for soldiers - who are banned from striking themselves - to replace striking public sector workers, according the Telegraph.
Soldiers should not be made to give up Christmas to cover for NHS workers and others who earn more than them, senior military figures have told ministers.
They are also understood to have warned that such moves risk weakening the "operational capability" of the military to respond to potential threats.
"You've only got to look at a private soldier on £22,000 a year and whose pay scales have not kept up with inflation for the last decade having to give up Christmas, or come straight off operations, to cover for people who want 19 per cent and are already paid in excess of what he or she would be, and it’s just not right," one source told the paper.
"We’ve got to the stage now where the Government’s first lever it reaches for every time there is any difficulty, whether it's floods, strikes, all the rest of it, is the Armed Forces, as opposed to it being the last resort."
Read more: 'I didn't train to see people die', paramedic reveals pressures driving workers to strike
It comes after it was announced on Wednesday that Border Force workers will go strike over Christmas in a row over pay, jobs and conditions.
The strikes will take place for eight days this month. Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester airports are set to be impacted. Birmingham and Glasgow airports will also be affected.
The strikes announced by the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) include dates from the 23rd to the 31st of December.
The strike dates are from 23-26 December and from the 28-31 December and will affect Birmingham Airport, Cardiff Airport, Gatwick Airport, Glasgow Airport, Manchester Airport, Heathrow terminals 2, 3, 4, 5, and the Port of Newhaven.
As a result, airlines are being told by officials to cancel up to 30 per cent of flights on strike days to prevent chaos in airport arrival halls, according to The Times.
More than 10,000 flights are scheduled to land at the airports over the affected dates.
In a letter to aviation bosses, seen by the paper, director-general of the Border Force Phil Douglas wrote: "Our contingency workforce will not be able to operate with the same efficiency as our permanent workforce.
"As is the case with any industrial action, we simply will not know levels of permanent Border Force officers who will report for duty until the day and what the operational impacts might be."
The PCS union has already announced strikes at the Department for Work and Pensions, the Highways Agency and among driving examiners.
In response to the growing number of strikes, Rishi Sunak has vowed to introduce "tough laws" to prevent unions causing major disruption.
He said the move would "protect the lives and livelihoods of the British public" if union leaders "continue to be unreasonable".
"Hard-working families right now in this country are facing challenges," Mr Sunak told the Commons on Wednesday.
"The Government has been reasonable. It's accepted the recommendations of an independent pay review body, giving pay rises in many cases higher than the private sector.
"But if the union leaders continue to be unreasonable, then it is my duty to take action to protect the lives and livelihoods of the British public.
"That's why, Mr Speaker, since I became Prime Minister I have been working for new tough laws to protect people from this disruption."
He demanded that Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer "stand up for working people" and back the legislation.
