Which winter strikes are happening and when

As the summer of disruption makes way for a winter of discontent, the UK is bracing itself for the biggest wave of industrial action in decades.

Politico described a “great wave” of public and private sector strikes taking place across the UK, meaning that “workers in a variety of industries are planning more walk-outs in the upcoming weeks due to the dramatic rise of inflation and interest rates and pay not reflecting these economic changes,” said City Monitor.

Railways, postal services, teachers, hospital staff and civil servants are among the many public services grinding to a halt. So who is striking and when?

Railways

While nationwide rail strikes by the RMT scheduled for the beginning of November were called off at the last minute, the union said the dispute remains “very much live” and it is continuing its re-ballot of members to secure a fresh mandate for action.

According to the BBC, Network Rail is preparing to make a revised offer to unions, but if there is no breakthrough in talks and members vote in favour, strikes could continue into spring 2023. It all comes down to whether unions and rail operators come to an agreement. 

Train drivers at 12 train operating companies are still planning to strike on 26 November, according to Time Out, after the Aslef union said it was still waiting for a pay offer from the employers, despite ongoing talks.

The companies affected by the strike are: Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Great Western Railway, Greater Anglia, London North Eastern Railway, London Overground, Northern Trains, Southeastern, TransPennine Express and West Midlands Trains.

Buses

London bus drivers have announced a series of walk-outs in the run-up to Christmas. Bus workers will strike on 22, 25 and 26 November and on 1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 16 and 17 December.

According to the Evening Standard, members of Unite employed by Abellio in south and west London will walk out in a dispute over pay, affecting drivers based in Battersea, Beddington, Hayes, Southall, Twickenham and Walworth. 

Postal service

Following postal strikes in October that failed to improve the 2% pay increase set out by Royal Mail, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) is set to undertake industrial action again on the following dates:

Article source: https://www.theweek.co.uk/business/economy/958523/which-winter-strikes-are-taking-place-and-when-they-are-happening