Armed Forces deployed to cover strikes over Christmas period to receive extra cash

Members of the Armed Forces covering strike action this festive season will receive extra cash, it has been announced.

Personnel from across the military will receive an extra £20 for each day spent training or deployed to provide cover for industrial action between 19 December and 2 January.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said it was "only appropriate our people are compensated for having to go above and beyond their usual tasks at short notice".

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More than 1,000 personnel from all three services have received training in recent weeks to cover a number of roles during planned industrial action, including driving ambulances and checking passports at the UK border.

The military's first industrial action cover took place on Wednesday, as 600 personnel stepped in to drive ambulances and provide support to NHS trusts in England. 

And today, 625 service personnel have been deployed to cover Border Force strikes.

Mr 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 to bolster UK resilience. 

"While the unions continue to hold our public services to ransom, it is only appropriate our people are compensated for having to go above and beyond their usual tasks at short notice."

Personnel will receive the extra payments in their monthly salary, with the net amount calculated as £20 for each day of cover, after tax, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) said.

Responding to the announcement of the £20 payments, shadow defence secretary John Healey MP said: "Our Armed Forces are there to defend the country, but are once again having to bail out Conservative ministers who are grinding our country to a halt.

"This small gesture is better than nothing. But the best reward for our Armed Forces would be if they could stand down and spend Christmas with their families. That can only happen if ministers do their job and bring employers and unions together to resolve these disputes."

The additional cash will be funded from the MOD's existing budget and the amount was reviewed and calculated in line with other additional payments military personnel have received during deployments.

The payments are being made on a one-time basis and are not expected to be included in future Military Aid to Civilian Authority (Maca) taskings.