Streeting Delays Defence Jobs Plan After Union Pushback
Wes Streeting, the defence secretary, has delayed a plan to bring more young people into defence industry jobs after trade unions objected at the eleventh hour. The MoD confirmed the delay but said the plan would be published “in due course”. It was due on Thursday as part of a week of youth jobs announcements.
The plan promised at least 14,000 defence apprenticeships a year by 2035. Unions, shown it just before publication, called it weak and said it ignored their role in “build British” defence policy. Mr Streeting is still expected in Telford on Thursday to open a Rheinmetall gun production facility. The episode exposes the friction between Labour’s rearmament drive and its union base just as the government seeks to show momentum on youth unemployment.