From NHS transport, education to delivery drivers, tens of thousands of people from a range of industries are expected to take industrial action as recession grips the UK and the cost of living rises. Sky News looks at the industries that are trending and why. Transport Rail Rail strikes take place on December 11-12 (Avanti West Coast only), December 13-14, December 16-17, January 3-4, January 6-7. The overtime ban from December 18 to January 2 by RMT members will also affect many rail services. The Eurostar strikes will take place on 16, 18, 22, 23 December. Several unions have planned rail strikes this winter. The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union represents network rail workers, who manage rail infrastructure such as signals, and workers in 14 of the UK’s 28 train companies. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch is arguably the union’s best-known official and said his members are striking in response to government job cuts and a refusal to raise wages in line with inflation. He also said the government wants to make changes to the Rail Pension Scheme by reducing benefits and making staff work longer while paying increased contributions so they have less money in their pension funds. Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 3:02 RMT Boss ‘hopes’ for government offer Mr Lynch said the government plans to “attack” terms, conditions and working practices using “fire and re-hire” and reduce real pay for most members through long-term pay freezes and below RPI inflation wage increases. The RMT wants a pay rise, which it has not budgeted for, and no job cuts, as well as protection of working practices and conditions. RMT members who are security staff at Eurostar, some earning £10.66 an hour, will walk out after rejecting a below-inflation pay offer. Aslef, which represents train drivers at 12 companies, is also on strike, with its members wanting a “proper” pay rise to help with the rising cost of living as they say they have not had a pay rise since 2019. The union said some train companies have their “hands tied” by the Department for Transport so they are unable to negotiate a “reasonable deal”, which is why they are striking. Bus Abellio strikes take place on December 2-3, December 9-10, December 16-17. Metroline strikes are scheduled for December 8-9, 15-16. The GMB strikes in Sunderland will take place on December 23-24 and 26-27. Unite members working on Abellio buses in south and west London and Metroline buses in north and west London are striking in November and December in a dispute over pay. The union said Abellio had failed to carry out “substantial pay discussions” over pay rises due in January 2023 and says its members are among the lowest paid in London. He said Metroline’s offer of a 10% pay rise amounted to a real pay cut due to high inflation. Image: There will be bus strikes in London and Sunderland GMB members working as bus drivers for Stagecoach in Sunderland are striking over “real-time pay cuts” as they say the company is refusing to negotiate. Stagecoach North East disputes this and says an offer has been made which would make these drivers “among the highest paid bus drivers in the region”. Roads Phased strikes in all English regions between 16 December and 7 January. December 16-17: North West, Yorkshire and North East. December 22-25: London and the South East. 30-31 December: West Midlands and South West. January 3-4: All regions. January 6-7: East Midlands and Eastern. National Highways workers, who plan, design, build, operate and maintain the country’s roads, are to take part in a series of “escalated” strikes in England. Their union, PCS, says the action risks bringing the road network to a standstill and that the strikes will coincide with planned rail strikes by RMT members. Traffic officers help keep road traffic and road users safe through the planning and delivery of programs and the provision of essential safety services such as pavements, smart highways and lane closures. Their dispute is over wages, pensions, job security and redundancies. Air December 16 from 4 a.m. for 72 hours. A total of 350 baggage handlers employed by Menzies at Heathrow Airport are to strike in the run-up to Christmas in an ongoing pay row. Unite said it would affect passengers using Air Canada, American Airlines, Lufthansa, Swiss Air, Air Portugal, Austrian Airlines, Qantas, Egypt Air, Aer Lingus and Finnair. Postal Further Royal Mail strikes are taking place on December 9, 11, 14-15, 23-24. The final Christmas post dates are 12 December (2nd Class and Royal Mail 48), 16 December (1st Class, Royal Mail 24 and Tracked 48), 19 December (Tracked 24) and 21 December (Special Delivery Guaranteed). Members of the Communications Workers Union (CWU) are walking out in November and December in a long-running dispute over pay and Royal Mail’s modernization plans, which include 6,000 redundancies and parcel delivery on Sundays, without letters on Saturdays. The strikes continue after Royal Mail said it had delivered a “best and final” offer to the union, including a series of “extensive improvements”. Royal Mail said it offered workers a pay rise of up to 9% over 18 months, a new employee profit-sharing scheme and more generous voluntary redundancy terms. However, the CWU said Royal Mail’s bid would turn the company into a “casual, gig economic parcel courier”. Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 3:20 “We don’t want businesses to suffer” Read more: Will I still receive my letters and parcels? NHS Nurses Strikes are taking place on 15 and 20 December in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Members of the Royal College of Nursing are set to strike in December for the first time since the government failed to commit to formal pay negotiations following a five-day deadline that expired in November. Thousands of NHS nurses are to strike as they demand a 5% rise above inflation after saying they have had a pay cut of 20% in real terms since 2010. They are also calling for better working conditions, as nursing vacancies are at a high level, resulting in staff being tired and regularly working beyond their shifts without extra pay. The strikes will lead to thousands of canceled NHS operations and appointments. Junior doctors Junior doctors – any doctor below consultant level – who are members of the BMA will be called to strike on 9 January 2023. They say they have had a real pay cut of 26.1% since 2008, while their workload has increased and morale is plummeting after getting through the pandemic with “nothing but worthless applause”. New doctors were guaranteed a 2% pay rise in 2022/23, but this was agreed before the pandemic when inflation was below 2%, so the BMA said it was actually a pay cut. They were also excluded from the 4.5% rise the rest of the NHS has been promised. No possible strike date has been set. Image: Young doctors went on strike for the first time in 2015 when Jeremy Hunt was health secretary Other NHS staff Five other unions are voting for strike action, which could be co-ordinated, by NHS staff who are not junior doctors or nurses, including ambulance staff, midwives, doctors and hospital porters. Members of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy in Scotland have voted to strike for the next six months but will consider an offer from the Scottish Government for a 7% pay rise, or 11% for the lowest paid. Physios in England and Wales are on the ballot until December 12 as the union calls for pay rises in line with inflation. The Royal College of Midwives is voting its members, who are midwives and maternity workers, for industrial action after rejecting the government’s offer of a 4% pay rise as it is below inflation. Unite, the UK’s second largest union, is also polling 10,000 NHS members ahead of Christmas for strikes in early 2023. NHS Unite members currently on the ballot include: dentists, health scientists, applied psychologists, counselors and psychotherapists, audiologists, optometrists, builders, estates and maintenance staff, administrative staff, ICT help and support services such as porters and cleaners. Ambulance workers who are members of Unite across Scotland, England and Wales have already voted to ban regular working hours and overtime after rejecting the NHS’s offer of a 4% pay rise. Dates are yet to be determined. Unison, the UK’s biggest union, is voting for 350,000 NHS workers across England, Wales and Northern Ireland as it rejected the government’s offer of a 4% pay rise. The union represents a wide range of NHS staff, including porters, nurses, paramedics and cleaners. Thousands of Unison ambulance workers in the North East, North West, London, Yorkshire and South West have voted to strike, but no dates have been set and exact areas have yet to be confirmed as the turnout was just under the 50% threshold many NHS trusts. Unison has suspended its vote in Scotland as it consults on the Scottish Government’s offer of a flat rate of just over £2,200, worth more than 11% to the lowest paid, after an initial offer of 5%. Members of the GMB union, including nurses, ambulance workers, hospital porters, cleaners, caterers, clerical workers, technicians, care workers, social workers and transport workers in Northern Ireland, have voted to strike – expected before Christmas . Education Teachers in Scotland walked out on November 24 as they demanded a 10% pay rise – which Scottish authorities…
