LONDON: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on December 18 hit out at trade unions for causing misery for millions with “particularly cruelly timed” strikes over the Christmas holiday period as the Government announced plans to use around 1,200 troops to cover for striking workers to keep key services going.
There is a wave of winter strikes planned over the course of the next few weeks, including railway workers, healthcare workers, and border security staff, who are all demanding better pay and working conditions. Writing in ‘The Sun on Sunday’, Sunak said the workers have been offered “deals that are fair and affordable” and accused the unions of unleashing a “class war”.
“The unions are causing misery for millions, with transport strikes in particular cruelly timed to hit at Christmas,” writes Sunak. “Rail workers and border officers have been offered deals that are fair – and affordable to taxpayers. An increasing number of union members want a deal. They are tired of being foot soldiers in [Railway RMT Union chief] Mick Lynch’s class war,” he said.
The Government has repeatedly warned that giving in to union demands for massive pay rises will kick Britain into an “inflation spiral”, which in turn would hit the poorest the hardest.
