As Britain suffers through the great strikes, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has vowed that anti-strike laws will be brought in “to protect lives and livelihoods”.
Speaking to Daily Mail Sunak said that he was gearing up for a showdown with union leaders and that he hopes they can see that wrecking Christmas isn’t right.
Watch | UK PM Rishi Sunak under pressure to avert anti-strike legislation
“I would really hope that union leaders can see that it’s not right to cause such misery and disruption to so many people, particularly at Christmas time,” he said.
Sunak’s statement comes as nurses in the UK are set to stage a workout today (Thursday) over demands of a 19 per cent pay rise.
He said that his government is acting “fairly and reasonably” as evidenced by their acceptance of the full recommendations of an independent pay body and that they will continue to do so.
However, he added “I’m prepared to introduce new legislation next year to protect people’s lives and minimise the disruption on their livelihoods. And that’s something we are working on at pace.”
Reportedly ministers are debating a possible ban on strikes by emergency workers and introducing “minimum service levels” in key sectors.
However hospital trusts and unions and still negotiating about what level of service will be maintained as nurses stage a walkout.
Downing Street further said that they have asked paramedics who will be going on strike next week to provide a guarantee that emergency calls will not go unanswered.
(With inputs from agencies)
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