All strikes planned for March 2023 – from trains to teachers

A further wave of strikes will continue throughout March, with ongoing disputes over pay and conditions.

Teachers, ambulance workers, University staff, civil servants and nurses are among those due to take more strike action in March.

More misery on the trains is also incoming as The Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers Union (RMT) has rejected the latest offers, and train drivers’ union Aslef has warned strikes could continue for three more years.

Royal Mail is under threat of further strike action too, as members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) have overwhelmingly voted for it – though no dates have yet been set.

Junior doctors are also being balloted now on industrial action.

This follows the biggest day of strike action in a decade when 500,000 workers walked out across transport, education and the civil service.

So here are all the strikes due to happen in March, and the dates you need to know.

Some 700,000 students were off school on February 1 and 85% of schools either fully or partially closed in England and Wales as 100,000 teachers went on strike over pay and conditions.

Member of the National Education Union (NEU) are due to strike again on Wednesday, March 1, Thursday, March 2, Wednesday, March 15 and Thursday, March 16.

Areas affected by the strike in England and Wales will be:

Wednesday March 1:

• East Midlands
• West Midlands
• Eastern

Thursday March 2:

• London
• South East
• South West
• Wales

Wednesday March 15 and Thursday March 16:

• All areas in England and Wales

Areas affected in Scotland by The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) strike will be:

Wednesday March 1:

Tuesday March 7 – Thursday March 9:

Regional strikes in parts of

• Glasgow
• Dunfermline
• Perthshire
• East Dunbartonshire
• Mid Galloway
• Wigtown West

University staff strike

The University and College Union (UCU) will be holding further strikes on Wednesday, March 1 and Thursday, March 2 across the UK.

Strikes will also take place on Thursday, March 16 and Friday, March 17, plus three days from Monday, March 20 through to Wednesday, March 22.

Train strike

Members of the RMT working for 14 rail companies will walk out on Thursday, March 16, Saturday, March 18, Thursday, March 30 (and Saturday, April 1).

Network Rail members will strike on March 16.

Each walkout will last for 24 hours, so expect disruption on the days either side.

The 14 affected rail companies are:

• East Midlands Railway
• Great Western Railway
• Avanti West Coast
• LNER
• Cross Country
• TransPennine Express
• Greater Anglia
• c2c
• Chiltern Railways
• Northern Trains
• South Eastern
• South Western Railway
• West Midlands Trains
• GTR (including Gatwick Express)

Civil servants’ strike

From Wednesday, March 1 to Friday, March 3 inclusive, the following PCS union members are set to strike over pay, pensions and job security:

• Liverpool Job Centres
• Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA) members working in stores
• Land Registry employees at the Durham and Swansea Customer Service Centres
• Land Registry employees on the customer resolution team at Birkenhead, Coventry, Croydon, Durham, Fylde, Gloucester, Hull, Leicester, Nottingham, Peterborough, Plymouth, Swansea, Telford and Weymouth. 

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has confirmed a further 48-hour strike in England, following action in January and February.

But this time many more Trusts and nurses will be involved, including – for the first time – those in cancer care, intensive care units and emergency departments.

They will strike continuously for 48 hours from 6am on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.

Strike action by nurses has been paused in Scotland and Wales after improved offers were put on the table this month (February), and the unions are consulting with members.

The RCN has no plans for strikes in Northern Ireland, where there is no executive in place.