The NHS is bracing for a four-day junior doctors strike that looks set to be “the most disruptive industrial action in NHS history”, according to Sir Stephen Powis, NHS England’s national medical director.
In a statement, NHS England announced that staff will be asked to prioritise emergency and urgent care over some routine appointments and procedures to ensure safe care for those in life-threatening situations during the walkout over pay, in which the medics are demanding a 35 per cent raise to make up for what they have described as 15 years of below-inflation wage rises.
Health secretary Steve Barclay has meanwhile accused the British Medical Association of taking a “militant stance” in negotiations, his comments unlikely to soothe tensions between the two sides.
Thousands of British workers from a host of public-facing professions have undertaken industrial action over the course of the winter, from train drivers to NHS nurses, civil servants and postal workers, demanding salary increases and improved working conditions to ensure they are not left behind by the cost of living crisis.
Earlier this month, the National Education Union (NEU) rejected the government’s latest pay offer as “insulting”, paving the way for school strikes to continue in England in April too.
After a period of intensive talks with unions, the government had offered teachers a £1,000 one-off payment for the current school year and an average 4.5 per cent pay rise for staff next year.
However, the NEU said a members ballot had returned an “overwhelming” 98 per cent vote in favour of rejecting the deal from a 66 per cent turnout.
The union said it has scheduled two further walkouts for Thursday 27 April and Tuesday 2 May but urged education secretary Gillian Keegan to return to the table with an improved offer.
While some of the disputes have been resolved – criminal barristers in England and Wales and London bus drivers have accepted improved offers, for instance – and RMT rail strikes suspended for now, many more unions are still planning new strikes this month.
Here is a list of all the walkouts currently scheduled for April so far:
Monday 3 April
More than 1,000 HM Passport Office workers belonging to the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) in England, Scotland and Wales begin a five-week strike in a dispute about jobs, pay and conditions lasting until 5 May, with their counterparts in Northern Ireland joining them on the picket line from Friday 7 April.
Heathrow Terminal Five security staff represented by Unite continue to strike.
Tuesday 4 April
Passport Office strike by PCS members continues.
Heathrow security staff strike continues.
Wednesday 5 April
Passport Office strike by PCS members continues.
Heathrow security staff strike continues.
Thursday 6 April
British Museum workers belonging to PCS on strike beginning Easter weekend.
Passport Office strike by PCS members continues.
Heathrow security staff strike continues.
Friday 7 April
Passport Office strike by PCS members continues.
Heathrow security staff strike continues.
British Museum workers’ strike continues.
Saturday 8 April
Passport Office strike by PCS members continues.
British Museum workers’ strike continues.
Sunday 9 April
Passport Office strike by PCS members continues.
Heathrow security staff strike continues.
British Museum workers’ strike continues.
Monday 10 April
Passport Office strike by PCS members continues.
British Museum workers’ strike continues.
Tuesday 11 April
Junior doctors in England belonging to the British Medical Association (BMA) go on strike.
Passport Office strike by PCS members continues.
British Museum workers’ strike continues.
Wednesday 12 April
Junior doctors’ strike continues.
Passport Office strike by PCS members continues.
British Museum workers’ strike continues.
Thursday 13 April
Junior doctors’ strike continues.
Passport Office strike by PCS members continues.
Friday 14 April
Junior doctors’ strike continues.
Passport Office strike by PCS members continues.
Saturday 15 April
Passport Office strike by PCS members continues.
Sunday 16 April
Passport Office strike by PCS members continues.
Monday 17 April
Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) driving examiners represented by PCS striking in northeastern England and Scotland.
Passport Office strike by PCS members continues.
Tuesday 18 April
DVSA driving examiners continue to strike in northeastern England and Scotland.
Passport Office strike by PCS members continues.
Thursday 20 April
DVSA driving examiners strike in northwestern England and Yorkshire and the Humber.
Passport Office strike by PCS members continues.
Friday 21 April
DVSA driving examiners continue to strike in northwestern England and Yorkshire and the Humber.
Passport Office strike by PCS members continues.
Monday 24 April
DVSA driving examiners strike in eastern England, the East and West Midlands and parts of London.
Passport Office strike by PCS members continues.
Tuesday 25 April
DVSA driving examiners continue to strike in eastern England, the East and West Midlands and parts of London.
Passport Office strike by PCS members continues.
Thursday 27 April
Teachers from NEU walk out on strike.
DVSA driving examiners strike in southern England, Wales and London.
Passport Office strike by PCS members continues.
Friday 28 April
130,000 civil and public service workers belonging to the PCS union, including Border Force agents, on strike.
DVSA driving examiners continue to strike in southern England, Wales and London.
Saturday 29 April
Passport Office strike by PCS members continues.
Sunday 30 April
Passport Office strike by PCS members continues.
