LONDON (Reuters) – Britain wants to bring in the armed forces to help keep public services running if key workers, including Britain’s National Health Service, go on strike, the leader of the country’s ruling Conservative Party said on Sunday.
The UK is already facing union action across a range of sectors, but now thousands of nurses and ambulance staff in England and Wales are planning strikes later this month to demand better pay and working conditions.
The government has repeatedly asked the workers to call off the strike saying that it cannot provide a wage hike to cover inflation and even if the workers’ demands are met, such an increase would further fuel inflation.
Alex Baldock, chief executive of British electrical retailer Currys, said his company would not use Royal Mail “for the time being” to minimize any impact from the strike.
Workers at the postal service Royal Mail have held several strikes this year in a dispute over pay and working conditions, and more are planned this month.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who has been in power for more than a month, faces a number of problems, including a long recession ahead of an election that polls suggest will result in a defeat for the Conservatives.
(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper)
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