Will there be strikes in March 2023? What we know about future train, Royal Mail and teacher strike dates

Industrial action continues to loom large on the horizon as more walk outs are planned by teachers, rail workers and the Royal Mail next month.

2023 has already seen a succession of strikes from health workers, university staff, teachers and civil servants and this looks set to continue in March.

We take a look at who will be walking out and when next month.

Teachers

Many schools across the country were closed or partially closed on 1 February as staff in England and Wales took to the picket lines over pay and conditions.

The National Education Union (NEU) has said long hours and poor pay are the main reasons teachers are leaving the profession in their droves.

It claims the Government is “presiding over one of the worst recruitment and retention crises ever seen in education”.

Now members of the NEU are set to go on strike on again next month as they campaign for better pay and conditions.

On Wednesday 1 March, staff will walkout in the East Midlands, West Midlands, and East, whereas on Thursday 2 March, members in London, the South East and the South West will strike.

And then on Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16 March, NEU members in England and Wales will take industrial action.

In Wales, NEU member are set to strike on 2 March after postponing action on 14 February following talks with the Welsh Government.

While in Scotland, the Educational Institute of Scotland has planned strikes for February 28 and 1 March across the whole of Scotland and regional strikes between 7 to 9 March in parts of Glasgow, Dunfermline, Perthshire, East Dunbartonshire area, Mid Galloway and Wigtown West.

There will then be 20 days of rolling industrial action from 13 March until 21 April.

University staff

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) will be on strike on 1 and 2 March in a dispute over pay, working conditions and pension cuts.

There will also be industrial action on 16, 17, 20, 21 and 22 March.

Moreover, the UCU has confirmed it will reballot 70,000 members to allow industrial action to continue in universities for the rest of the academic year if employers refuse to meet staff demands over pay, conditions and pensions.

Royal Mail

Postal staff were due to hold a 24-hour walkout from 16 February until 17 February but it was blocked by a legal challenge by Royal Mail.

About 115,000 workers were expected to strike as part of a long-running dispute over pay and conditions, which saw industrial action on a number of days in the run-up to Christmas 2022.

The Communication Workers Union will now announce the results of a new ballot for action on 16 February, which could renew the previous six months’ mandate for strike action.

No dates have been set for strikes in March yet.

Rail

The Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers union (RMT) rejected offers from both Network Rail and the train operating companies last week.

The union is seeking an unconditional pay offer, a job security agreement and a commitment to better conditions and working practices.

Mick Lynch, RMT general secretary, said: “We have carried out an in-depth consultation of our 40,000 members and the message we have received loud and clear is to reject these dreadful offers.”

He said the industrial campaign would now “continue for as long as it takes to get a negotiated settlement that meets our members’ reasonable expectations on jobs, pay and working conditions.”

But no dates have been set for further strikes.

Mick Whelan, of rail union Aslef, warned recently industrial action could go on for three more years unless there was movement from employers.

Mr Whelan said: “What option do we have? If you haven’t had a pay rise for four years, do you wait five? Do you wait six or seven?”

Health workers

Ambulance workers who are members of the GMB and Unite unions are due to walk out again on 6 and 20 March.

Nursing staff in England were last on strike on 6 and 7 February but so far no dates have been set for further action in March.

However, it has been reported the Royal College of Nursing is looking at a continuous two-day strike possibly next month.

A ballot of junior doctors in England on industrial action over pay closes on 20 February.

The British Medical Association has told the Government if a ballot on industrial action is successful, junior doctors will begin their action with a 72 hour full walkout in March, during which time they won’t provide emergency care.

Consultants are also being balloted this month over industrial action.

Civil Service

The Department of Work and Pensions staff working at Liverpool job centres will continue industrial action on 1, 2 and 3 March.

Members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union at Toxteth Jobcentre, Liverpool Duke Street Jobcentre, Liverpool City Jobcentre, and Liverpool Innovation Park Jobcentre are striking over pay, pensions and job security.

The PCS union has also announced an escalation of targeted strike action with a one-day strike of 100,000 of its members in the Civil Service and public sector on Budget Day – 15 March.