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Junior doctors and teachers could be the next professions to walk out on strike as they are both demanding pay increases after months of disruption on the railways and in the postal service. Workers from border force and driving test examiners to nurses and ambulance crews have already begun strike action that is set to continue.
Firefighters could all soon be added to the groups walking out, with fears the UK could see something close to the General Strike last seen almost 100 years ago.
The Government is considering new laws to curb strike action and punish those who walk out, reports The Mirror. Companies could sue unions for damages and individual workers could be sacked for striking.
So what are the strike dates causing disruption in the UK, and which ones are still to come? Here’s a round-up:
Driving examiners: Until January 10
DVSA staff in London, the south east, south west and Wales are on strike at test centres until Tuesday 10 January.
If your driving test is disrupted it will be rebooked by the DVSA to an alternative date. If it is not rebooked, turn up as normal.
DVLA: January 9-13
PCS members at the DVLA’s Birmingham office, and those working on medical applications at its Swansea HQ, go on strike for five days.
Almost 100,000 people with medical conditions waited over a year for a new driving licence since Covid hit. PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka previously warned backlogs could get worse due to industrial action.
Junior doctors: Ballot opens January 9
NHS doctors will begin voting on whether they are in favour of striking over pay and working conditions from January 9. The ballot closes on February 20.
Up to 45,000 junior doctors in England could stage a walkout for 72 hours (three days) in March if they vote in favour of strikes, the British Medical association announced .
The BMA says junior doctors have seen real terms pay cut by 26.1% since 2008-09, with the Government’s refusal to address it giving them “no choice” but to ballot for strike action.
Teachers: Ballots close January 9-13
Teachers in Scotland are already striking on January 10 and 11, and from January 16.
So far teachers in England and Wales have not joined strikes, but that could change when a string of ballots close next week.
NASUWT members in England and Wales are voting until Monday 9 January on their first strike since 2011 due to “dire” real-terms pay cuts.
A ballot of head teachers in England and Wales by the NAHT closes on Wednesday 11 January.
And a ballot by the National Education Union closes on Friday 13 January. If NEU teachers strike it’d likely be from January 30.
Rural Payment Agency: January 9-13
More than 300 workers are set to strike from January 9-13.
They have already been staging action with customer service centre members staging walkouts from January 3-6.
Members of the Public and Commercial Services Union who work in the farming industry want better pay and job security.
Paramedics: January 11 and 23
Ambulance workers are walking out on two days, with 24-hour strikes planned for January 11 and 23.
The areas affected will be London, Yorkshire, the North West, North East and South West.
Paramedics and 999 call handlers will strike as both Unison and GMB unions take industrial action this month.
Other action taken by Unison involved just response crews, but will now include all ambulance employees including call handlers.
Nurses: January 18-19
After the Royal College of Nursing union staged its first nationwide strikes in its 106-year history last month, members are set to take further action in England on January 18 and 19.
The union is expected to announce further dates on top of this.
RCN General Secretary & Chief Executive Pat Cullen said: “The Government had the opportunity to end this dispute before Christmas but instead they have chosen to push nursing staff out into the cold again in January.
“I do not wish to prolong this dispute, but the Prime Minister has left us with no choice.”
Environment Agency: January 18
UNISON members in the Environment Agency will strike from 8am to 5pm on Wednesday 18 January in a pay dispute.
They include workers on the Thames Barrier, coastal sea defences and floods, water pollution, spills, waste fires and fly-tipping.
Firefighters: Ballot closes January 23
A Fire Brigades Union ballot closes on January 23, after members already rejected a below-inflation 5% pay rise.
Strikes could take place from early- to mid-February, with some soldiers being drafted in to cover for staff who walk out.
Troops are priced at £4,000 per soldier per week, but will not be allowed to enter burning buildings or rescue people.
Soldiers receive a crash training course of just four or five days. The union says firefighters are using food banks.
National Highways: January 6-7, 12-13 and 16
Traffic service employees for National Highways are striking on January 6 and 7 in an ongoing dispute over pay and working conditions.
Other National Highways workers will take industrial action in Newcastle Light Box and Tyneside House on January 12, 13 and 16.
It is part of a rolling wave of industrial action which started on December 16 by members of the Public and Commercial Services Union.
Border Force: More dates TBC
Around 1,000 passport-checking Border Force staff were due to walk out from December 23-26 and December 28-31 at Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow and Manchester airports.
The military was drafted in to cover for Border Force workers, who are part of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union.
No new dates have been announced yet but the dispute is not resolved, so they are possible with two weeks’ notice. The PCS is reportedly looking at extending to ports including Dover next time.
Postal workers: More dates TBC
More than 115,000 Royal Mail workers from the Communication Workers Union (CWU) took part in walkouts over wages on December 23 and 24.
The union is going to reballot at the end of this month because its six-month mandate ends in February and without one, it is unable to stage more industrial action.
Details on its upcoming ballot are expected next week.
CWU general secretary Dave Ward has warned “further action will take place in 2023”.
Midwives in Wales: Dates TBC
Members of the Royal College of Midwives in Wales backed strike action in December, with any dates yet to be announced.
But in England they fell short of tough thresholds to strike – by a tiny margin.
Some 88% of those who voted backed strike action. But turnout was only 47%, a whisker under the 50% threshold that the Tories set in 2016.
More civil servants: Dates TBC
The PCS union balloted more than 150,000 government employees at 214 departments – with 126 passing the threshold for strikes.
But only a fraction have walked out so far including Border Force and the DVLA. More could follow at just two weeks’ notice if the union decides to move.
Physiotherapists: Dates TBC
Members of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy say the Government has given them “no choice” but to strike over pay.
The union has secured a mandate for industrial action in more than 100 trusts in England, with exact dates for striking expected to be confirmed imminently.
The CSP’s smaller, second wave ballot closes on January 9 and the first days of action are likely to be as soon as late January.
Members will not be asked to strike for more than one day during this first round of action.
