This week (commencing 27 February), many strikes are “paused” while negotiations take place. Industrial action planned at universities has been paused as talks continue between unions and employers, while a nurses’ strike planned for 1-3 March is also postponed subject to “intensive” negotiations.
Teachers’ strikes are still planned in many parts of England, Scotland and Wales as are walk-outs for DVLA and Land Registry staff, and some bus drivers in Scotland. Amazon workers in Coventry are also going on strike.
As more occupations join the wave of strikes, predominantly in the public sector, there is increasing coordination between unions in their battles against under-inflation pay.
Wednesday 1 February 2023 saw the biggest mass walkout in the UK in over a decade, with teachers and train drivers striking alongside civil servants, bus drivers and university lecturers. More than 500,000 people were estimated to have taken part.
Budget Day on 15 March is the next prime target for strikes with civil servants, Tube train drivers, university staff, BBC journalists and teachers walking out. Junior doctors walk out for 72 hours, from 13 March ending on the morning of 16 March.
The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill would force trade unions to adhere to minimum service levels set by the government following consultations in rail, ambulance and fire services.
The government hopes other sectors’ minimum service levels in healthcare, education, border security, other transport sectors and nuclear decommissioning, will be mutually agreed upon without the need for consultation.
Since 2016, industrial action in specific services in the fire, health, education, transport, border security and nuclear decommissioning sectors require the support of at least 40% of all those entitled to vote in the relevant ballot and at least 50% turnout in order to be valid.
Here, we provide an overview of all major industrial action across the UK…
Nurses
Health unions will not be submitting evidence to the NHS pay review body for the 2023-24 pay round while the current industrial disputes remain unresolved, as they concentrate on their 2022-23 disputes.
Nurses from the Royal College of Nursing have suspended a 48-hour continuous strike on 1-3 March in England, while it holds “intensive talks” with the government. The RCN and the Department of Health and Social Care released a joint statement on 21 February:
“The government and RCN have agreed to enter a process of intensive talks. Both sides are committed to finding a fair and reasonable settlement that recognises the vital role that nurses and nursing play in the NHS and the wider economic pressures facing the UK and the prime minister’s priority to halve inflation. The talks will focus on pay, terms and conditions, and productivity-enhancing reforms.
“The health secretary will meet with the RCN on Wednesday [22 February] to begin talks. The RCN will pause strike action during these talks.”
However, other unions representing nurses and other NHS workers have been left out of the discussions. Unison’s head of health Sarah Gorton said: “Pay talks with all health unions representing striking NHS workers must happen now. Meeting with one union alone will do nothing to solve the dispute. Ministers need to start behaving like grown-ups and up their game substantially.”
Unison has announced that its nursing members in many England NHS trusts will strike on 8 March.
The government has suggested a 3.5% pay rise for many workers in the public sector, including nurses, for 2023-24. Pay review bodies will now make a recommendation, which the government can either accept or reject.
Members of the RCN in Scotland have voted to strike, but the union has paused action after a new pay offerfrom the Scottish government. The RCN and GMB unions are running consultative ballots until mid-March for its members to decide whether to accept the offer.
Nurses’ strikes in Wales have also been paused as unions consider a revised offer from the Welsh government with a consultative ballot open until 27 February.
Health and social care workers in Northern Ireland, members of Unite, went on strike on 21 February after ballots across all five health trusts and the ambulance service returned an average 87% vote in favour of action.
While midwives and maternity support workers (MSWs) from the Royal College of Midwives working in the NHS in Wales rejected a revised pay offer from the Welsh government in a ballot, the collective response of the majority of trade unions that make up the Wales Partnership forum – including the RCM – is to accept the offer.
The pay offer gives midwives, MSWs and some other NHS staff in Wales a 5.5% consolidated pay increase for 2022-23, plus a non-consolidated 1.5% top-up backdated to April 2022. It also includes a commitment to restore pay to 2008 levels.
The RCM is consulting its members on the latest Scottish government pay offer.
London Ambulance workers on strike. Photo: Zuma / Alamy
Ambulance workers
Ambulance workers in the Unite union announced 10 further strike dates, four of which will coincide with walkouts announced by the GMB.
Unite members in the Welsh Ambulance Service have overwhelmingly rejected the most recent pay offer made by the Welsh government; 92% rejected the deal with a 70% turnout. GMB members have also overwhelmingly rejected the proposal.
Scheduled dates are as follows:
- 23 January – Unison members in England
- 24 January – GMB members in the North West
- 6 February – Unite and GMB ambulance workers in the North West, North East, West Midlands and East Midlands. Unite members in Wales
- 10 February – Unison workers in London, Yorkshire, the South West, North East and North West
- 16 February – GMB workers in Northern Ireland
- 17 February – Unite workers in the West Midlands and Northern Ireland
- 20 February – GMB and Unite workers in East Midlands, North East, North West Yorkshire, South West, South Central, South East and Wales
- 21 February – Unite workers in Wales
- 22 February – GMB workers in the North West and Unite workers in Wales
- 23-24 February – GMB and Unite workers in Northern Ireland
- 6 March – Unite and GMB workers in North West, North East, West and East Midlands and Wales
- 8 March – Unison members in London, Yorkshire, North East, North West, South West, South Central, East of England, West Midlands and East Midlands
- 10 March – Unite members in Wales
- 20 March – Unite and GMB workers in North West, North East, West Midlands and East Midlands.
The East of England Ambulance Service, the only trust not to have seen strikes recently, is set to join the rest of the country after GMB members voted 86% in favour of industrial action. Potential strike dates are being discussed.
Strike dates for South Central, South East Coast, and Yorkshire ambulance services will be announced in the coming days, after more than 1,000 workers voted to join the strikes co-ordinated by Unite.
Doctors
The British Medical Association has confirmed a junior doctors 72-hour strike on 13-16 March in England,after 98% of those voting in a six-week ballot voted in favour of walking out, on a 77.5% turnout. The strike, which starts and ends at 7am, will include the provision of emergency care.
The BMA said that doctors have repeatedly called upon Steve Barclay to meet with them urgently, but so far no date is forthcoming.
Dr Rob Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi, co-chairs of the BMA junior doctors’ committee, said the blame for the strike action lies squarely at the government’s door.
“Make no mistake, this strike was absolutely in the government’s gift to avert; they know it, we know it and our patients also need to know it. We have tried, since last summer, to get each health secretary we have had, around the negotiating table.”
They added: “The fact that so many junior doctors in England have voted yes for strike action should leave Ministers in absolutely no doubt what we have known for a long time and have been trying to tell them, we are demoralised, angry and no longer willing to work for wages that have seen a real terms decline of over 26% in the past 15 years. This, together with the stress and exhaustion of working in an NHS in crisis, has brought us to this moment, brought us to a 72-hour walk out.”
Junior doctors who are members of the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association have already decided to go on strike with 97% voting in favour on a turnout of 74.8%. The HCSA has announced that its strike will take place on 15 March coinciding with the final day of the BMA’s walk-out.
In Wales, the BMA junior doctors committee (WJDC) rejected a revised offer from the Welsh government but BMA Cymru Wales accepted it. WJDC co-chairs Georgina Budd and Amna Babiker said: “Whilst the Welsh Government’s enhanced pay offer for 22/23 does not go anywhere near to achieving full pay restoration, we are pleased that the Welsh Government has committed to the principle of pay restoration to 2008 levels, the first government in the UK to do so.”
In Scotland, a ballot for strike action among junior doctors opens on 29 March. There are no plans for a strike ballot of junior doctors in Northern Ireland.
Physiotherapists
Around 4,500 members of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy working in England will strike on 22 March. They have already been on strike twice, on 9 February and 26 January.
The CSP has also been omitted from pay talks the government is holding with the RCN as the government submitted a recommended 3.5% pay increase to the NHS pay review body for the 2023-24 pay round.
Elaine Sparkes, CSP assistant director and lead negotiator on pay, said: “However late in the day, pay talks are welcome. It is, however, essential that these involve all health unions. With the exception of doctors and dentists, all NHS staff share the same pay, grading, terms and conditions and any resolution must reflect that.
“In the absence of meaningful talks, we will continue with our imminent plans to announce our next round of physiotherapy strikes. I hope the government will now act swiftly to avoid this.”
Physios in Wales, members of the CSP, along with other health unions, have voted to accept a new offer from the Welsh government.
Healthcare (other)
Five unions are balloting their members on industrial action at the Care Quality Commission, the regulator for health and social care services including hospitals, care homes, GP practices and ambulance services. The CQC has offered a pay rise of 2.75-3.75% and a one-off payment of £100 or £150. The unions are asking for inflation plus 5%. Ballots close in early March.
Universities
A joint statement from five trade unions in the higher education sector and the University & Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) announced that planned strikes this week and next week have been paused while Acas-mediated talks continue into this week (commencing 27 February).
The statement, released by the UCEA, the University and College Union (UCU), Unison, Unite, GMB and the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), said that some progress at the lower end of the pay spine had been made in Acas discussions on pay, although an impasse, rather than an agreement, had been reached, and it is agreed that with regard to pay the dispute resolution procedure had been exhausted.
The UCU, Unison and Unite agreed to pause its planned industrial action in the weeks commencing 20 and 27 February, and to not announce any further action, to “allow for a period of calm to facilitate further Acas discussions”. The GMB and EIS had no strikes planned in these weeks.
The discussion includes a review of the pay spine to address issues of grade increments, while the UCEA has agreed to consult its members on the issues being discussed, including a recommendation to take action on zero-hour contracts.
Unison’s head of education Mike Short said: “Improving the wages of the lowest paid university employees is a crucial step. Cleaners, domestic staff and others at the bottom of the pay scales have been in dire need of help.
“The pay structure in the sector has been unfit for purpose for years, with far too many staff earning just the minimum wage with little chance to progress in their careers. The fact that talks are to continue is a positive move. It’s vital that progress is made in improving the wages of everyone working in higher education.”
Industrial action began on 24 November for around 70,000 academic staff across 150 universities, led by the UCU. Non-academic staff who are members of Unison are taking action over pay at 19 universities.
The UCU has urged universities’ vice-chancellors to “come out of hiding” and use the sector’s “vast wealth” to resolve the pay disputes.
Here are the scheduled strike dates from UCU:
- 1 February
- 9-10 February
- 14-16 February
- 21-23 February (strike paused)
- 27 February to 2 March (strike paused)
- 15-17 March
- 20-22 March.
UCU members are striking over pay, the casualisation of employment contracts, and changes to pension arrangements that it claims will see some members losing up to 35% of their future retirement income.
In a result announced in early February, 80.4% of members voted to reject the last pay offer of 5% from the UCEA. The electronic ballot was open for four days with 30,000 votes being cast.
UCU has said it will re-ballot 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.
Teachers and schools
England and Wales
Teachers who are members of the National Education Union have voted in favour of strikes. The majority of schools closed for national strikes on 1 February and will do so again on 15-16 March, but there are also a series of one-day regional strikes:
- 1 February – England and Wales
- 14 February – Wales (postponed)
- 28 February – North, North West, Yorkshire and Humber
- 1 March – East Midlands, West Midlands and East
- 2 March – Wales, South West, London and South East
- 15-16 March – England and Wales.
Dr Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretaries of the National Education Union, said on 24 February:
“It is completely disingenuous to suggest that we are not willing to enter talks with government. We are absolutely ready to come to talks. What we cannot accept are pre-conditions which require us to pause strike action before we have made any progress through negotiations to resolve this dispute.
“Let us be clear. The only reason Gillian Keegan has come to the table at all is because of the NEU’s successful ballot result. We want to resolve this dispute in the interests of teachers and children’s education. Such a resolution will not come, however, without goodwill on both sides. Inaccurate claims by the Department for Education do nothing to achieve this aim.”
The NEU noted that the government’s offer of negotiations is set in the context of the Department for Education’s submission to the School Teachers’ Review Body which has set an affordability limit of 3% for experienced teachers’ pay next year.
In Wales, following detailed talks with the minister for education and Welsh Language and Welsh Government officials, the NEU agreed to postpone action in Wales to 2 March.
The NASUWT rejected a new offer from the Welsh government, with 66% of members saying they felt the revised offer was unfair in the current circumstances.
Teachers’ strikes in Scotland
The salaries committee of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), the nation’s main teachers’ union, has unanimously rejected a revised offer drafted by the Scottish government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA).
The NASUWT in Scotland has also rejected the proposal. Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary, said: “The latest pay proposals are a marginal improvement, but would still result in a real terms pay cut for teachers this year.”
Plans remain to strike across Scotland on 28 February and 1 March, with 20 further days of rolling strikes across all local authorities from 13 March until 21 April.
There has also been targeted action in the constituencies of decision-makers such as the outgoing first minister Nicola Sturgeon, where EIS members walked out in four places on 22-24 February.
Teachers’ strikes in Northern Ireland
In Northern Ireland, coordinated ASOS is ongoing, but four unions – the NEU, NASUWT, the Ulster Teachers Union and the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation – went on strike for 12 hours on 21 February.
Industrial action
Employers and agencies torn over use of temps to cover strikes
Rail workers
There are currently three unions in dispute with the railway companies: the RMT, Aslef and the TSSA.
The RMT has announced strikes at 14 train operating companies on 16, 18 and 20 March. Its members will also walk out at the start of the Easter break on 1 April.
RMT members working for Network Rail will strike on 16 Marchalso, and then begin an overtime ban.
The RMT rejected the latest pay offers from the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), representing most rail employers, and Network Rail.
Following a wide-ranging and in-depth consultation with every level of the union involved in the national rail dispute, the union’s national executive committee decided to reject both offers on the basis that they do not meet members’ expectations on pay, job security or working conditions.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “Our members cannot accept the ripping up of their terms and conditions or to have safety standards on the railway put into jeopardy under the guise of so-called modernisation.
“If our union did accept these offers, we would see a severe reduction in scheduled maintenance tasks, making the railways less safe, the closure of all ticket offices and thousands of jobs stripped out of the industry when the railways need more investment not less.”
The RMT, members of which went on strike for 10 days over the Christmas period, will begin to make preparations for a re-ballot when the existing strike mandate runs out in May.
The RDG made a new pay offer last month, which included a backdated pay rise of 5%, and a 4% increase this year. Network Rail also proposed a revised pay offer.
Rail engineering workers at Balfour Beatty and represented by the RMT will stage three 48-hour strikes in March after they rejected a pay increase of 5.5% from April 2023. Around 100 staff will walk out from 10pm on Friday 3 March to 10:00am on Sunday 5 March and again on 10-12 and 17-19 March.
Train drivers who are members of Aslef, went on strike across 15 train operating companies on 1 and 3 February after their union rejected a previous pay offer. Drivers who are members of the RMT joined them on these dates across 14 companies.
Aslef train drivers on the London Underground have voted to strike on 15 March. Tube train drivers voted by 99%, on a turnout of 77%, in favour of a walk-out, the union said. The dispute is over changes to working arrangements and pension arrangements.