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London
CNN
–
The British government is considering bringing in the military to curtail industrial action and keep public services running, the chairman of the ruling Conservative Party said on Sunday, after a wave of strikes sparked by the cost-of-living crisis and the shrinking economy. in recession.
Actions include border controls and state-run healthcare services if key workers, including nurses and ambulance drivers, go on strike.
“Our message to the unions is, this is not the time to strike, this is the time to try and negotiate. But in the absence of that, it’s important for the government to make contingency plans, the right and responsible thing to do,” Conservative Party chairman Nadeem Zahavi told Sky News.
“We’re looking at the military, we’re looking at the specialist response force […] To be able to deal with the unfortunate circumstances if you have a border force strike,” Zahavi added.
“Of course, in things like running an ambulance, in other parts of the public sector, we have to try to minimize disruption,” Zahawi said, in response to a question about the strike affecting the UK’s National Health Service.
Strikes have hit the UK this year, as workers grapple with an overcrowding crisis of living standards and an economy sliding into recession. CNN Business previously reported that wages have stagnated and failed to keep pace with inflation, now at a 41-year high, setting the stage for a clash between employers and workers.
Those clashes have already caused widespread disruption, including to train travel, and are now spreading to more areas such as education, healthcare and security.
More than 70,000 university staff across 150 universities in the United Kingdom went on strike on Thursday, November 24 and Friday, November 25 over pay, working conditions and pensions.
The strike was the largest in the history of British higher education, affecting more than 2.5 million students, according to the Universities and Colleges Union, which organized the strikes.
According to the Office for National Statistics, 356,000 days were lost to strike action in August, not far from the previous high recorded in July 2014, when 386,000 days were lost. That number fell to 205,000 in September.
Disruption has continued through the autumn, with some public service unions set to take strike action or vote their members on pay. Ambulance staff and nurses in the NHS are due to go on strike this month while junior doctors vote on whether to take industrial action.
The RMT, Britain’s biggest transport union, announced in November that there would be four 48-hour strikes in December and January.
The Communications Workers Union (CWU), which represents striking postal workers, has announced additional walkouts on December 9, 11, 14, 15, 23 and 24, which could put Christmas deliveries at risk.
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