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The week before Christmas is bringing in a round of strikes from multiple different sectors. Staff across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire will take to the picket lines to fight for pay rises and changes in working conditions.
It comes at a key time of year, when many public services become stretched with high demands. Workers are set to walk out from their jobs in an effort to demand improvements.
Across the city and county, multiple industrial action will be taking place. From nurses to railway staff, postal workers and driving examiners, the strikes will affect many sectors.
Read more: Nottinghamshire patients asked to use services ‘wisely’ after GP suspends urgent care
So what is this week going to look like and what do the workers want?
Nurses
Across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, nurses from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) union are walking out tomorrow (December 20). Under trade union laws, life-preserving care has to be provided, meaning nursing staff are still expected to work in services such as intensive and emergency care.
The action will instead affect routine services, such as planned operations, district nursing and mental health care. The strike action will impact four NHS trusts in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. These are Nottingham University Hospitals, NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB, and East Midlands Ambulance Service.
Sherwood Forest Hospitals, which runs King’s Mill, Newark and Mansfield community hospitals, will not be effected after nurses voted against strikes. This is also the case at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals, the trust behind Bassetlaw District General and Retford Hospital.
Speaking at the first QMC picket line, RCN regional organiser Sarah Leigh Barnett said enough was enough. “This has been 10-plus years of below inflation pay. We can’t attract at the bottom, we can’t retain and we’ve got an aging workforce,” she said.
“This Government makes a lot of choices – to pay the nursing workforce adequately is a choice, not to even discuss it with our general secretary is a choice.” The RCN is calling on the Government to give nurses a pay increase of 19.2% as well as improve working conditions.
This is 5% above the rate of retail price inflation, which stood at 14.2% in the 12 months to November. The Government says that the money needed to fund a 19.2% pay rise for nurses would have to come out of the budget for frontline NHS care.
Ambulance workers
Ambulance staff will go on strike this week. The co-ordinated walkout by the three main ambulance unions, Unison, GMB and Unite, will affect non-life threatening calls only.
It could mean people who have had trips and falls not being responded to. Industrial action is planned to take place at East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) over the next two weeks.
At EMAS, industrial action is planned to take place from 6am on December 21 to 6am on December 22, and from 6am on December 28 to 6am on December 29. Commenting on the pre-Christmas strike, Unison head of health Sara Gorton said: “The Government will only have itself to blame if there are strikes in the NHS before Christmas.
“Ambulance staff and their health colleagues don’t want to inconvenience anyone. But ministers are refusing to do the one thing that could prevent disruption – that’s start genuine talks about pay.
“Wages are too low to stop health workers quitting the NHS. As more and more hand in their notice, there are fewer staff left to care for patients. The public knows that’s the reason behind lengthy waits at A&E, growing ambulance delays, postponed operations and cancelled clinics.”
Border Force
While Border Force staff at East Midlands Airport are not striking, staff at Heathrow and Gatwick will be going on strike for eight days. The strike will take place from December 23 to December 26, and December 28 to December 31.
Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow and Manchester airports, as well as the port of Newhaven, will also be affected. Heathrow has warned passport checks may take longer on strike days. The Government says travelers could face “serious disruption”.
Royal Mail
Royal Mail staff will be striking on December 23 and December 24. The strike involves staff who collect, sort and deliver letters and parcels.
The Communication Workers Unions (CWU) and Royal Mail have held talks in recent weeks but remain deadlocked as workers join picket lines outside sorting and delivery offices across the UK. CWU general secretary Dave Ward said: “Royal Mail bosses are risking a Christmas meltdown because of their stubborn refusal to treat their employees with respect. Postal workers want to get on with serving the communities they belong to, delivering Christmas gifts and tackling the backlog from recent weeks.
“But they know their value, and they will not meekly accept the casualisation of their jobs, the destruction of their conditions and the impoverishment of their families. This can be resolved if Royal Mail begin treating their workers with respect, and meet with the union to resolve this dispute.”
Royal Mail has offered a pay deal which it says is worth up to 9% over 18 months. However, this is below the current rate at which prices are rising – 10.7%.
The CWU wants a higher pay offer, but they also object to proposed changes to working conditions. This includes ending a number of allowances, the introduction of compulsory Sunday working and closure of box offices which would result in job losses.
Trains
The RMT union will be striking from 6pm on December 24 until 6am on December 27. East Midlands Railway workers will be taking part in the strike action.
On December 23, passengers have been told to travel by rail only if necessary. Most EMR services will run between 7.30am and 6.30pm. Christmas Eve will see industrial action taking place by Unite the Union and the RMT, meaning no EMR services.
Christmas Day and Boxing Day will have no EMR services as normal and there will be a late start on December 27. Paul Rutter, East Coast route director for Network Rail, said: “We’re really sorry for the disruption this will cause over the Christmas period when people are travelling to see family and friends.
“This latest round of strike action means that we’re asking passengers to only travel if it’s absolutely necessary on days and to expect some significant disruption. With important engineering work also taking place into the new year, passengers should continue to check their journey throughout the festive period.”
Driving examiners
Some driving examiners who are members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union are planning to take strike action at times during December 2022 and January 2023. The national action will be taking place at different times depending on region.
The East Midlands will see strike action from December 28 to December 31 as well as January 3. These strikes include Nottingham’s Chilwell and Colwick centres, Ashfield and Worksop.
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