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Unions representing millions of workers in the UK are seeing a greater willingness to strike, as the cost of living worsens and living standards drop at their sharpest rate since the 1950s. While wages stagnate and inflation soars, many workers have seen their wages cut in real terms, setting up a show down between many companies and their staff.
To ensure their members earn a fair wage for their labour, many unions have begun balloting members on whether to take industrial action. Earlier in the summer, members National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) walked out, causing many trainlines to close.
But this appears to be just the start, as strikes are set to go ahead this month and into late summer, autumn and then 2023. Dubbed the summer of discontent, we’ve got a full list of every union which has planned strikes or may take industrial action in the near future.
Read more: NHS pay rise – unions warn of strike action over ‘pitiful’ amount
Bus staff
The majoirty of Arriva bus routes in the north west will not longer run for the foreseable future, with close to 2,000 staff walking out in Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cheshire for an indefinite period until a solution is reached.
Action began on July 20 after 96 percent of Unite and GMB members voting to strike.
Doctors
Strike action is “inevitable” according to the new British Medical Association chair of council, Prof Philip Banfield.
Members of the Doctors in Unite union have already voted to seek a 30 percent increase in their salaries over the next five years with action likely to be taken in spring 2023. This is in response to seeing their pay reduced by a third in real terms since 2008.
Airline staff
Most major airlines have experienced disruption to operations due to striking workers and more action is planned. Staff working for easyJet and Ryanair in Spain, who are members of the USO and SITCPLA unions, will continue walkouts this July.
Ryanair staff are striking on July 20, 21, 25 to 28 – over 10 Spanish airports. While, easyJet workers plan action on July 29, 30 and 31. A last minute pay deal recently saw British Airways avoid strike disruption.
Nurses
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN), which represents nurses in England, are set to be balloted on taking strike action htis month, with the likely outcome for it to go ahead.
According to Nursing Notes, the average experienced frontline nurse is a whopping £6,000 worse of that 12 years ago, despite having taken consecutive pay rises in recent years.
Rail workers
Continuing strikes earlier in the summer, the RMT have announced three further days of walkouts – these are July 27, August 18 and 20and will involve 40,000 workers across Network Rail and 14 operating companies.
RMT general secretary Mike Lynch has stated industrial action will continue to be taken until the Government negotiates a fair deal.
Teachers and lecturers
The National Education Union and the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) will ballot members on industrial action in the autumn.Meanwhile, the University and College Union (UCU) has announced that 29 of the 33 colleges balloting on strikes have agreed to industrial action.
The UCU recently rejected a 2.5 percent pay rise and are sticking to demands of a 10 percent increase with a minimum uplift of £2,000.
Post Office and Royal Mail
Around 115,000 employees could walk out in late-summera fter receiving what is thought to be Royal Mail workers’ biggest mandate to strike ever.
Unite the Union says that despite the industry being ‘awash with cash’, some workers have seen their pay packets cut by £7,000. Some Post Office workers walked out earlier in July, while over 1,500 Royal Mail managers also joined them.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) vote on whether to take action, resulted in 97.6 percent of members backing strikes.
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