The train strikes this summer will put our collective notions of fairness to the test.

It’s been a tough week. The stress of commuting increased in lockstep with the temperature. London Underground strikes did not prevent me from getting to work because I live in a city with alternatives, but they did more than double the travel time and quadruple the stress: which buses to take from which stops, where to change, how to get on at all when they are full, and how to cool down once I arrived? What’s more, how will you make up for the lost time? Strikes are fine in theory, but only if they affect you directly.

Another logical, unavoidable consequence of the pandemic is that we haven’t seen many in recent months. This appears to be on the verge of being altered. The three looming national rail strikes, for example, have been strategically spaced to cause a week’s worth of misery. More Tube strikes are expected, as well as possible airport check-in and baggage-handling strikes. Diverse groups, including GPs and junior doctors, criminal barristers, Royal Mail and BT employees, have threatened to strike. Almost always, both pay and working conditions are a problem.

We have a gut feeling as to why this is the case. The cost of living crisis has exacerbated a situation where real incomes are falling behind rising outgoings. Many people are working longer hours than before the outbreak because employers have been unable to fully rehire, forcing current employees to work even harder. There’s no sign of that changing anytime soon, especially because the government believes it can’t be seen as filling the gaps by issuing “special circumstances” immigrant visas, no matter how sensible the idea is.

So the public’s attitude toward strike action will be tested in the coming months: should it be allowed; should it only apply to some workers and not others; should employers be allowed to hire agency workers to fill some of the strikers’ roles? Much of the polling on the subject is old or dominated by unions, but in 2011, slightly more than half of the country supported strike rights. Many others, however, believe that certain groups, such as firefighters, police officers, and doctors, should not be able to. Any assistance will be severely tested in the near future by parents of children attempting to get to their GCSEs and those who live outside of cities such as London, where there are limited transportation options.

What are the best ways for labor unions to gain public support? They don’t have much hope in the mainstream media, where the angles are frequently pre-written: strikers are “militant” and “vital NHS workers cannot get to work” – until vital NHS workers themselves wish to strike.

Unions have a larger share of the social media conversation. It’s critical to understand why you’re striking. When more than two issues are grouped together, it appears to be a politically motivated act, regardless of how justified it is.

Another option is to look for ways to limit the damage, such as lunchtime strikes, sit-ins, and social media campaigns. Strikes, however, lose their impact if they do not cause hardship. Our belief in a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work is about to be put to the ultimate test.