Rishi Sunak vows to stand firm against strikes saying union pay demands would cost each household £1,000
9 December 2022, 14:01 | Updated: 9 December 2022, 14:05
Rishi Sunak has ruled out meeting union demands for pay rises for public sector workers, insisting he will not let "ordinary families" take the brunt with higher costs.
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The Prime Minister was asked whether, aside from asking the military to step in, the Government could do anything to prevent the industrial action from going ahead.
Speaking at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, he said: "The Government is always going to try and act fairly and reasonably.
"What I'm not going to do is ask ordinary families up and down the country to pay an extra £1,000 a year to meet the pay demands of the union bosses. That wouldn't be right and it wouldn't be fair."
He added that the Government is looking at "tough new laws" as well as resilience and contingency plans.
Long-delayed legislation to ensure minimum service levels on the transport network during industrial action could be widened to other public services including emergency services.
Mr Sunak's main priority was to "protect lives and minimise the disruption" of the growing wave of industrial action sweeping the country, he said.
Strikes are set to cause chaos for Brits every day in the lead up to Christmas, with several sectors walking out over pay disputes and working conditions.
NHS nurses, ambulance crews, Border Force workers and Royal Mail staff are just a few of those involved in the industrial action.
Thousands of soldiers have since been preparing to cover for strikers, prompting complaints from the military that they were being forced to sacrifice their Christmas.
The Prime Minister said the nation should be grateful to army personnel for easing some of the strain.
"We're here at an RAF base today," he said. "I had the opportunity to say thank you to some of our armed forces personnel because many of them are going to miss Christmas to help us deal with the disruption from strikes, whether that's manning border posts or driving ambulances, and we all owe them an enormous debt of gratitude."
Mr Sunak was at the site to launch the first major phase of the next-gen fighter jets programme.
Britain is to work with Italy and Japan on a next-generation fighter jet to take over from the RAF Typhoon.
Ministers say the project will mean the UK and allies are "outpacing and out-manoeuvering those who seek to do us harm".
The jets - called Tempest in the UK - could start flying in 2035.
