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The UK faces a looming period of mass disruption with hundreds of thousands of workers across the country set to strike across industries in the coming weeks in disputes over pay, pensions, jobs and conditions.
Rail staff, nurses, civil servants, bus drivers and postal workers are among those expected to walk out in the weeks before Christmas, with industrial action set to continue into 2023.
i has compiled the definitive guide to the strikes taking place or planned across industries in the next month.
NHS
Nurses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will stage the biggest strike in the Royal College of Nursing’s (RCN) history in December.
Up to 100,000 members will walk out at 65 NHS organisations on 15 and 20 December for 12 hours at a time. The strikes will take place between 8am and 8pm on both days.
They are calling for a rise in pay of 5 per cent above inflation as well as better working conditions amid a huge shortfall in nursing staff across the country.
Maternity services and A&E patients are among those that will face disruption when the nurses walk out, trust leaders have warned.
Sick babies as well as cancer and dialysis patients will be among those “protected” from turmoil but hospital chiefs have said they are in a race against time with union leaders to prevent other vital services being affected.
The RCN wrote to NHS employers on Friday setting out what it means by a commitment to a “life-preserving care model” during industrial action.
Chemotherapy, dialysis, critical care units such as “intensive care” and “high dependency”, neonatal and paediatric intensive care are the areas the RCN is confirming will be exempt from the strike action later this month.
Conservative Party chairman Nadhim Zahawi today appeared to confirm that pharmacists will be called on to help break the NHS strike action and ease winter pressures on the health service as a result of strikes.
Chemists could be allowed to diagnose patients with minor conditions and prescribe antibiotics to reduce demand for GP appointments and cut record backlogs, the Sunday Telegraph reported.
When this was put to the Tory party chairman during an interview with Sky News, Mr Zahawi said “we are looking at all contingency planning”.
He added: “We have to be able to deliver a safe level of treatment and support to patients at all times.”
Mr Zahawi also revealed the Government could deploy the Army to help ease disruptions caused by public sector strikes, including employing soldiers to drive ambulances after ambulance staff were balloted for action.
He told unions that “this is not a time to strike”, due to soaring inflation levels and the energy crisis. If they insist on going ahead with the industrial action however, Mr Zahawi said “it’s the right and responsible thing to have contingency plans in place”.
Asked if the military could be used to fill in roles, he added: “We’re looking at the military. We’re looking at a specialist response force, which actually set up a number of years ago.”
More NHS staff could join industrial action in the coming months. Junior doctors will start voting on strikes on 9 January, while on 12 December a strike ballot among members of the Royal College of Midwives and Chartered Society of Physiotherapy closes.
Rail
The disputes are over pay, pensions, jobs and conditions.
More than 40,000 RMT rail workers will walk out over 48 hours on 13 and 14 December, and 16 and 17 December, hitting Network Rail and 14 train operators.
Further strikes will also take place on 3, 4, 6, and 7 January, while RMT members will start an overtime ban on 18 December until 2 January.
Thousands of TSSA members will also walk out on Saturday 17 December in addition to a widespread campaign of other forms of industrial action across a dozen companies.
This will affect Avanti West Coast, c2c, Cross Country, East Midlands Railway, some Network Rail staff, Southeastern, South Western Railway, TransPennine Express and West Midlands Trains.
Other industrial action by the union includes a 48-hour strike by members at Avanti West Coast on 13 and 14 December, and 16 and 17 December.
Unite confirmed its members employed by Network Rail in electric control rooms will join workers at other rail unions in taking industrial action as part of the latest planned walkouts.
Unite members will strike on six days in December and three in January. Railway cleaners across the country in the RMT union will strike on 22, 23 and 31 December.
Royal Mail
Members of the Communication Workers Union will strike on 9, 11, 14, 15, 23 and 24 December in a dispute over pay and Royal Mail’s modernisation plans, which could lead to 6,000 redundancies and parcels being delivered on Sundays.
As a result, Royal Mail is asking customers to post their mail earlier than usual for Christmas this year. It comes after i revealed the huge scale of the postal backlog in leaked photographs taken at Royal Mail sorting offices.
The company has brought forward its latest recommended posting dates by five days for first class post and by seven days for second class to help manage any impact from planned strike action.
The changes are designed to help the company keep mail moving in the run up to Christmas when mail volumes are higher.
But workers told i that some post sent now will not be delivered in time for Christmas as the backlog even before strikes begin again is already too large.
Holidays
Festive holidays may also be impacted. Ground handlers employed by a private contractor at Heathrow Airport are to strike in a row over pay.
Around 350 members of Unite working for Menzies will walk out for 72 hours from 4am on 16 December.
The action will lead to some flight disruption, the union said.
The Eurostar will also be affected by walk outs, with RMT members working as security guards set to strike on 16, 18, 22 and 23 December after refusing a below-inflation pay offer.
Teachers
Teachers in Scotland will walk out on 7 and 8 December, dependent on the area they are working in, in a strike over pay.
In England, all four major teaching unions are balloting their members on possible strike action over pay, with the National Education Union and NASUWT claiming a five per cent pay rise offered in September is too low in light of skyrocketing inflation during the cost of living crisis.
Firefighters
Members of the Fire Brigades Union start voting on strikes over pay on 5 December. Matt Wrack, the Fire Brigades Union general secretary, said earlier this week: “We are rarely driven to these lengths.
“Nobody wants to be in this position. After years of derisory pay increases and a pay offer that is well below inflation, firefighters’ and control staff’s living standards are in peril.”
Mr Wrack said firefighters are using foodbanks and “we know that because FBU officials have had to sign off on members going to them”.
Civil servants
The aim of the co-ordinated action across Government departments is to impact ports, borders and widespread areas of transport, PCS said. The timing of the industrial action means it will take place for a month, over Christmas.
In a press conference last month, PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said the action had potential to cause “significant disruption” to people over the festive period.
Mr Serwotka said the first stage of PCS action will see some workers called out for the entire month, others in short, targeted bursts.
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