Government hold emergency Cobra meeting amid winter strike chaos 

The government will hold an emergency Cobra meeting to discuss plans for the upcoming strikes – that are sweeping across the public sector and will cause a winter of chaos. At the Cobra meeting, ministers will discuss using military and civil servants to cover Border Force staff. 

The armed forces will be deployed at hospital trusts ahead of an ambulance strike, the government says. 

But industrial action is still expected to cause major disruptions. 

The upcoming strikes over pay and conditions, across several sectors, will see nurses, paramedics, rail workers, post office workers and Border Force staff walk out this month. 

Cobra is an emergency committee made up of ministers, civil servants and others. 

Unions urged to call off strikes

Monday’s Cobra meeting will be chaired by Oliver Dowden, who has urged unions to call off the strikes. 

“The stance the unions have taken will cause disruption for millions of hardworking people over the coming weeks,” he said.

“The government will do all it can to mitigate the impact of this action, but the only way to stop the disruption completely is for union bosses to get back round the table and call off these damaging strikes.

“I will be chairing a series of Cobra meetings over the coming weeks to ensure our plans are as robust as possible, and that disruption is kept to a minimum.”

Trade unions want higher pay rises in line with rising prices, to help their members cope as the cost of living bites. 

Downing Street has continued to stress the importance of the independent pay review boards, whose advice on pay levels it accepted earlier this year. 

No 10 says the PM and chancellor do not want to stoke inflation further.