Rishi Sunak vows he WON'T bow to striking unions' demands
Rishi Sunak vows he WON’T bow to striking unions’ demands for double-digit pay hikes that would cost every household £1,000 as he thanks military personnel for ‘missing Christmas’ to prop up crippled services
- Rishi Sunak says it would not be ‘right or fair’ to meet pay demands from unions
- The PM thanked military personnel for filling gaps during a visit to an RAF base
- Reiterated his determination to bring in ‘tough’ laws to curb crippling strikes
Rishi Sunak today vowed he will not bow to striking unions’ demands for double-digit pay hikes that would cost every household £1,000.
The PM insisted it would not be ‘right or fair’ to agree to inflation-matching increases in order to stop a crippling wave of industrial action in the public sector.
He also reiterated his determination to bring in ‘tough’ laws to restrict walkouts – without giving more details of exactly what that would mean.
On a visit to RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, Mr Sunak admitted that many military personnel would ‘miss Christmas’ because they are filling gaps left by striking workers.
He said the nation owed them ‘an enormous debt of gratitude’ for their sacrifice to drive ambulances and man borders.
The comments came as a Labour frontbencher suggested the party is ‘willing to talk’ about bigger hikes in pay for striking workers despite ministers cautioning it would fuel inflation and hammer the public finances.
Unions put on a show of solidarity with postal workers in London today, with a rally outside Parliament
Rishi Sunak (pictured on a visit to RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire) insisted it would not be ‘right or fair’ to agree to inflation-matching increases in order to stop a crippling wave of industrial action in the public sector
Speaking to broadcasters this morning, Mr Sunak 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 and that the nation should be grateful for soldiers giving up their Christmas.
‘We’re here at an RAF base today. 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.’
Yesterday shadow health secretary Wes Streeting suggested the government should be more ‘sensitive’ to cost of living pain and staff shortages in the NHS.
The remarks went further than other senior Labour figures, who have dodged questions about whether pay rises would be higher if they were in power.
‘We have got inflation running at record levels and there are cost of living pressures, particularly among lower paid staff and I think it is potentially self-defeating for ministers to rule out discussions and negotiations around certain issues before talks have even begun,’ Mr Streeting said.
‘I appreciate the pressure the public finances are under, I appreciate the government is now facing action on pretty much every front, but we have got to see, particularly, pay in the NHS and social care, as retention issues as much as anything else.
‘When we are losing staff not just from social care but from the NHS to other employers because of pay, I think the government should be sensitive to that and be willing to talk.’
Unions put on a show of solidarity with postal workers in London today, with a rally outside Parliament.
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