Britain’s “winter of discontent” looks set to rumble on into the new year after a month of bitter strikes in December brought the country to a standstill and placed Christmas in jeopardy for many.
Nurses, railway staff, postal workers, G4S employees, London bus drivers, Eurostar security personnel, Border Force agents, Heathrow baggage handlers, Scottish teachers, driving examiners and National Highway Workers have all walked out in recent weeks as disputes between their employers and unions about pay and working conditions rumble on at a time when the UK remains mired in economic crisis.
What’s more, few of those conflicts have been resolved, leading many unions to threaten further industrial action in January.
Andy Furey, acting deputy general secretary of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), for one, has said his organisation’s row with Royal Mail is unlikely to be resolved anytime soon and that there are plans in place to ballot members well into the new year on the prospect of new strikes.
He said CWU’s most recent offer had been “thrown back in our face” and there are “no further talks planned at this stage”.
For its part, Royal Mail has urged the CWU to accept its own offer and call off its upcoming demonstrations, insisting: “We are doing all we can to minimise delays and keep people, businesses and the country connected.”
What follows is a complete list of all the strikes currently scheduled for January 2023, with more likely to be announced over the coming weeks.
Sunday 1 January
National Highways Workers strike - all areas
Driving examiners’ strike - West Midlands, East Midlands and eastern England
Unison staff at Environment Agency refuse to volunteer to attend incidents
Monday 2 January
Unison staff at Environment Agency refuse to volunteer attend incidents until 9am
Tuesday 3 January
RMT nationwide train strike
Rural Payments Agency (RPA) resume strike
National Highways Workers strike - all areas
Wednesday 4 January
RMT nationwide train strike
National Highways Workers strike - all areas
Driving examiners’ strike - London, South East, South Wales and South West
RPA continue strike
Thursday 5 January
ASLEF nationwide train drivers strike
Driving examiners’ strike - London, South East, South Wales and South West
RPA continue strike
Friday 6 January
RMT nationwide train strike
National Highways Workers strike - East Midlands and eastern England
Driving examiners’ strike - London, South East, South Wales and South West
RPA continue strike
Saturday 7 January
RMT nationwide train strike
National Highways Workers strike - East Midlands and eastern England
Driving examiners’ strike - London, South East, South Wales and South West
Sunday 8 January
Driving examiners’ strike - London, South East, South Wales and South West
Monday 9 January
Driving examiners’ strike - London, South East, South Wales and South West
RPA continue strike
Tuesday 10 January
Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) national strike
Driving examiners’ strike - London, South East, South Wales and South West
RPA continue strike
Wednesday 11 January
EIS, joined by Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association, national strike
RPA continue strike
Thursday 12 January
RPA continue strike
Friday 13 January
RPA continue strike
Monday 16 January
EIS national strike lasting for 16 consecutive days until Thursday 2 February
