Rishi Sunak vowed to introduce “tough laws” to clamp down on “unreasonable” strike chaos as he faced MPs at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.
Mr Sunak pledged to “take action to protect the lives and livelihoods of the British public” with new legislation to protect people from strike disruption if union leaders “continue to be unreasonable”.
It comes as thousands of workers are preparing to bring chaos to the nation’s key services in strikes leading up to the festive season.
Paramedics announced on Tuesday they will be walking out on December 21 in a row over pay - the latest vital sector to announce a walkout. Unions GMB, Unite, and Unison have said they will respond to life-threatening incidents – known as category one calls – but Health Secretary Steve Barclay said on Wednesday there was “still a question” over whether ambulance services will cover all emergency callouts during strikes.
Meanwhile, rail workers are to bring the country’s rail network to a standstill over the festive period by walking out from Christmas Eve to the morning of December 27.
Two 48-hour walkouts will also take place on Tuesday and Wednesday next week, as part of a long-running dispute on pay, jobs and conditions, and on December 16-17, as well as January 3-4 and 6-7.
Royal Mail workers are also set to strike for six days in the Christmas run-up, including Christmas Eve, while NHS nurses are to walk out in dozens of trusts on December 15 and 20 in their first-ever national action.
