Oliver Dowden promises nurses pay rise at a later date if they call off Christmas strikes

The minister in charge of tackling widespread strike action has suggested nurses will be granted a bigger pay rise at a later date if Christmas walkouts are avoided.

Oliver Dowden urged unions to call off strikes and promised the Government could “give people the pay rise we would dearly love to give them” once the UK had a “stronger economy”.

He said inflationary pressures prevented the Government from offering nurses the 19 per cent pay increase they had requested, and defended ministers’ claims that doing so would cost households £1,000.

And he said it was “not fair” that military staff were being drafted into cover strikes during their Christmas break.

Speaking on BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster urged striking workers – which includes nurses, paramedics and rail staff – to “please give families a break this Christmas”.

“They should call of these strikes and give people a break,” he said. “I know everyone across the public and private sector is struggling at the moment.”

Addressing the unions, Mr Dowden said: “Please give families a break this Christmas, follow this independent pay review process, allow us to continue with this stability, get a stronger economy and then we can give people the kind of pay rise we would dearly love to give them.”

He added that it was “not fair” that the armed forces are being brought in to cover for striking workers.

Military personnel, who cannot legally strike, are being drafted in over Christmas to fill in for some striking workers – including ambulance workers.

Asked if it is fair that some servicemen and women will have to use their downtime to fill in for striking workers, he said: “No, it’s not fair at all.”

“It is of course the case that under different political persuasions, governments have used the Army in extremis,” he said.

“And it is an extreme situation in relation to having an ambulance strike, for example, and that’s why we’re asking them to do this. And I know the sacrifice that they are making in fulfilment of their duty.”

Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) are due to strike for a second time this week, on 20 December.

The union has asked for a pay rise of 19 per cent, but said this was a “starting point” and has urged the Government to open pay negotiations.

Ministers are refusing to budge from the recommendations given by the NHS Pay Review Body, which suggested a £1,400 raise – around 4 per cent on average.

The Government is insisting giving nurses a 19 per cent pay rise would be unaffordable and claimed that it would cost each family £1,000 to do so, but this figure has been disputed.

Mr Dowden defended the estimates, arguing that the figure applied if the Government were to offer an inflationary pay increase to all public sector workers.

“If we applied this across the board, that would cost families £1,000 each and it would also add to inflation and make us all poorer in the long run,” he said.

He argued the Government may even be “underestimating” the cost.

“What I can tell you is our number is justified on the basis of taking the inflation number, which is what the unions are asking for and projecting it forward to next year,” he said.

He denied the figure was inaccurate, adding: “I spent a lot of yesterday and the day before discussing exactly these numbers. These are robust numbers.”

Later, speaking to Times Radio, Mr Dowden said it would not be “responsible” to bow to “aggressive action from strike leaders”.

“People across the private sector are getting about 4 per cent,” he said. “Why should it be the case that some unions are able to push their claims ahead of others?”