With the cost of living increasing across the UK, many different industries have begun staging mass strikes over a rise in pay.
September is set up to be another month filled with industrial action, as the rail industry, to Royal Mail, waste cleaning services and the education system all expected to strike across the coming weeks. But, who is striking and when will the walk-outs begin?
Read on below for all the information on the upcoming strikes across Scotland, and how they will affect the public.
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Royal Mail
Royal Mail workers who are part of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) are striking both today, and between Thursday, September 8 2022 and Friday, September 9 2022. Over 115,000 members of the CWU will join in on this strike, causing severe delays to the delivery of letters and parcels across the nation.
Both Royal Mail and Parcelforce will feel the effects of this strike, as Royal Mail confirmed the union has rejected a pay rise offer "worth up to 5.5 per cent" after three months of discussion. The CWU has said they want a rise that is more in line with inflation rates.
Inflation currently sits at 9.4 per cent, and is expected to rise to 13 per cent later this year. The CWU began their strike on Friday, August 26 2022, and are planning to strike on the following dates:
- Wednesday, August 31 2022
- Thursday, September 8 2022
- Friday, September 9 2022
These dates will also affect Parcelforce, as a number of their staff are also part of the CWU.
Scottish school workers
Scottish workers in schools across 13 local authorities are planning to strike next week, after talks with the council body Cosla broke down. School and nursery staff plan to walk out in the coming days, in a dispute over pay.
Schools will shut for safety fears, after staff from a whole range of professions agree to strike. These include cleaners, pupil support staff, janitors, technical staff, office staff and catering staff.
There are 13 areas affected, which are as follows:
- Aberdeenshire
- Angus
- Clackmannanshire
- Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
- Dundee
- East Renfrewshire
- Glasgow
- Inverclyde
- North Lanarkshire
- Orkney
- Perth and Kinross
- South Lanarkshire
- Stirling
The workers are planning to strike on the following dates:
- Tuesday, September 6 2022
- Wednesday, September 7 2022
- Thursday, September 8 2022
Bin collection and street cleaning services
After the chaos that ensued during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as the waste workers striked throughout, the streets of Glasgow and Edinburgh have been left piled high with rubbish. The Glasgow bin collection and street cleaning workers are set to return to work on Thursday, September 1 2022 - for a limited time.
According to the Glasgow City Council website, the strikes will resume next week, as: "services will be available for five days only as further strike action is due to commence on Tuesday September 6 and end on Tuesday, September 13. Due to the significant accumulations of waste that now require to be collected across the city, disruption and delays to the service will continue for some time."
The strike is in response to on-going, national pay negotiations being managed by COSLA on behalf of all Scottish local authorities. Services including household bin collections, street cleansing, public bins and household waste and recycling centres are expected to be seriously affected during the strike action.
The waste workers are planning to strike on the following days:
- Tuesday September 6 2022
- Wednesday September 7 2022
- Thursday September 8 2022
- Friday September 9 2022
- Saturday September 10 2022
- Sunday September 11 2022
- Monday September 12 2022
- Tuesday September 13 2022
Railway services
A number of train strikes took place across the summer this year, causing disruption in Scotland and beyond. Staff at nine rail companies and also at Network Rail are set to strike again next month for one full day.
The unions are in dispute with the government and rail companies about pay, job cuts and changes to terms and conditions. In the latest update, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) union said the newest offer "represents a real time pay cut", and aren't willing to accept it.
These are the rail services that will be affected by the strikes:
- Avanti West Coast
- c2c
- CrossCountry
- East Midlands Railway
- Great Western Railway
- LNER
- Southeastern
- Network Rail General Grades (Bands 5-8) and Controllers
The strike is planned for Monday, September 26 2022 for the full 24 hours. You can visit the according railway service's website to see if your journey is affected.
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