Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was accused by Keir Starmer of choosing to “prolong the misery” over strikes at PMQs.
Sir Keir also claimed the Government had “gone from clapping the nurses to sacking the nurses” through its new minimum strike legislation.
The PM clashed with Sir Keir Starmer at the first Prime Minister’s Questions of the New Year amid a backdrop of crippling public sector strikes.
Sir Keir said:“If the prime minister had negotiated with the nurses before Christmas - they wouldn’t be on strike. So why is he choosing to prolong the misery rather than end these strikes?”
In response to the new strike legislation that could allow bosses of key public services to sack employees who refuse to work, he said: "When I clapped nurses I meant it. His response to the greatest crisis in the history of the NHS is to threaten to sack our nurses.”
Mr Sunak said he had always been “clear” that he wants to have “constructive dialogue” with the trade unions.He defended the minimum safety legislation outlined yesterday, saying it is a “simple proposition” which would balance union need to strike with supplying life-saving care for those who need it.
It comes as up to 25,000 ambulance workers across England and Wales went on strike on Wednesday in a dispute with the Government over pay.
Paramedics, call handlers, drivers and technicians from the Unison and GMB unions are taking part in staggered strikes across a 24-hour period.
