More than 550,000 working days were lost to strikes in August and September

More than half a million working days were lost to strikes over the summer as unions demanded huge pay rises.

Official figures showed that industrial action – including by rail and Royal Mail workers and barristers – cost 356,000 days in August, with 148,000 staff involved.

Another 205,000 were missed in September with 97,000 workers taking part. Most of the disputes were over wages, as inflation deals a hammer blow to living standards.  

The level was the highest over two months for more than a decade, and there are fears the situation will get worse as the cost of living crisis bites and the government tries to hold down public sector pay increases. 

Some 997,000 days were lost in November 2011 when a million people went on strike over Coalition austerity measures. 

This graph shows the Royal College of Nursing’s demands for a 5 per cent above inflation pay rise for the bands covered by its membership which includes healthcare assistants and nurses. Estimates based on NHS Employers data

The ONS has only just started publishing labour disputes data again, after they were paused in April 2020 amid the pandemic.

Darren Morgan, director of labour and economic statistics at the Office for National Statistics (ONS), said: ‘August and September saw well over half a million working days lost to strikes, the highest two-month total in more than a decade, with the vast majority coming from the transport and communications sectors.

‘With real earnings continuing to fall, it’s not surprising that employers we survey are telling us most disputes are about pay.’

Disputes still ongoing include with rail unions, teachers and NHS staff.  

Nurses, hospital staff and paramedics are plotting to co-ordinate strike action that will cause the maximum possible disruption for the NHS this winter.

Representatives from the six largest health unions held talks last night about launching a series of walkouts at the same time.