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Members of the UK Armed Forces involved in providing cover for public services during industrial action planned over the festive period will receive extra pay, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace has announced.
More than 1,000 personnel from across the Navy, Army and RAF have trained in recent weeks to cover a number of roles during the planned industrial action, including passport-checking and ambulance driving at the UK border.
The first industrial action cover took place on Wednesday (21 December) as 600 staff walked out to drive ambulances and provide direct support to NHS trusts in England. More cover will start today (December 23) as 625 staff are deployed to ensure UK border security.
Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said:
I am incredibly grateful for the sacrifices made this winter by members of our armed forces, who are giving up their time to keep our essential services running and boost the UK’s resilience.
When unions continue to hold our public services to ransom, it is right that our people are compensated for going above and beyond their normal duties at short notice.
After accepting requests from the Military Aid to Civilian Authority (MACA), payment for each day will be issued to personnel engaged in or training for industrial action cover during the festive period.
Employees will be paid for each day spent on training or deployment during the entire period from December 19 to January 2 inclusive. Employees will receive payments in their monthly salary, with a net amount calculated as £20 for each day of cover after tax. This funding will be provided from the current budget of the Ministry of Defence.
MACA is a long-standing and established process that allows specialist capabilities of the UK Armed Forces to be used to support civilian authorities responding to local emergencies.
A comprehensive review of how MACA tasking is calculated and charged across government will take place in early 2023.
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