THE military cannot replace highly trained ambulance workers and expect the service to run as normal, a union official warned today.
Ministers held a Cobra meeting to discuss plans for armed services personnel to cover for striking workers, including Border Force and ambulance staff.
In the run-up to the planned industrial action, a formal request has been made to the civil authorities (Maca) protocol for the NHS and Border Force to receive military help, Downing Street said.
![Unison members outside Oldham hospital, greater Manchester, August 24, 2026 [Pic: Neil Terry]](https://msd11.gn.apc.org/sites/default/files/styles/desktop/public/2026-08/IMG_9635058.JPG.webp?itok=efrKYNqZ)
Burnham urged to create publicly-provided national care service before the end of the parliament, and to keep his promise to ditch neoliberalism
Roger McKenzie talks to general secretary of Unison CHRISTINA McANEA about the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on members, the local government funding emergency and the threat of Reform UK