Strikes have been a constant occurrence in our 2022 calendar. Whether it’s on the railways, in the postal service or in the airport, there’s been a fair share of disruption this year.
With the cost of living constantly rising, unions are asking for better working conditions and pay increases . As negotiations go on, there are more and more dates of strike action announced, as unions and bosses fail to reach an agreement.
More dates are expected to follow throughout early 2023 unless agreements are in place. But in the run up to Christmas, here is who is striking and when they’re walking out.
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Railway workers
Railway workers, including train drivers, conductors and platform staff among other roles, have been striking since June. The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) wants a pay offer reflecting the rising cost of living - and a guarantee of no compulsory job losses.
December strike dates: 13th, 14th, 16th, 17th, 24th, 25th, and 26th
Eurostar staff
Eurostar passengers could see their Christmas travel plans disrupted due to security staff striking over pay. More than 100 staff who are employed by facilities management company Mitie are expected to take part in the action.
December strike dates: 16th, 18th, 22nd and 23rd
More than 10,000 workers including paramedics, control room staff and support workers will strike across most of England and Wales. The walkout will affect non-life-threatening calls only and the military are on standby to help out should it be required.
December strike dates: 21st and 28th
Nurses
Nurses in England, Wales and Ireland will stage the biggest strike in the history of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN). Up to 100,000 members will walk out at 65 NHS organisations.
Under trade union laws, the RCN has to ensure life-preserving care. This means that some cancer services, urgent tests and scans, ongoing care for vulnerable patients, A&E services and intensive care will be protected.
However, non-urgent hospital treatments, including knee and hip replacement surgery, are likely to face further disruption, increasing the backlog. According to the British Medical Association, in September of this year, the waitlist for treatment in England was at a record high of 7.1 million people.
December strike dates: 15th and 20th
Royal Mail workers
Christmas deliveries will be affected with postal workers walking out. The cut-off point for Christmas mail has been moved to December 12th for second-class post and December 16th for first-class post.
December strike dates: 9th, 11th, 14th, 15th, 23rd, and 24th
Teachers
Teachers in England and Wales are inching closer to further strike action as unions have issued a formal ballot to strike. In Scotland, tens of thousands of teachers took to the picket line in November.
December strike dates: Members of the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA) and the NASUWT will strike on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th.
Baggage handlers
Baggage handlers at Heathrow have voted to strike for 72 hours bringing unease to festive holiday plans. The airlines likely to face disruption at Heathrow include:
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Air Canada
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American Airlines
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Lufthansa
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Swiss Air
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Air Portugal
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Austrian Airlines
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Qantas
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Egypt Air
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Aer Lingus
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Finnair
December strike dates: 16th, 17th and 18th
Driving examiners/instructors
Staff at the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency will strike in the run-up to the festive period over pay, pensions and redundancy terms. Driving examiners, DVSA call centre staff, instructor examiners and local driving test managers will be among those to take action.
December strike dates: Scotland and Northern Ireland regional strikes from the 13th to the 18th. North West, Yorkshire and Humber and North Wales will strike from the 19th to the 24th. West Midlands, Eastern region and East Midlands will strike on the 28th until the 31st with further regional strikes continuing into the New Year.
There will be DVSA strikes on the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st, covering traffic examiners and vehicle examiners employed across all DVSA workplaces.
Bus drivers
More than 200 Stagecoach drivers in Sunderland will continue their strike action after they walked out on November 5th. The planned strike will be a blow to last-minute Christmas shoppers and those who wish to hit the Boxing Day sales.
December strike dates: 23rd, 24th, 26th and 27th
Border Force
Around 1,000 Border Force officers intend to strike for eight days affecting airports in Birmingham, Cardiff, Gatwick, Glasgow, Heathrow, Manchester and the port of New Haven. Officials checking passports are among those on strike and as a result, immigration and customs checks are expected to take longer during peak times.
December strike dates: 23rd to 26th and 28th to 31st
Civil servants
Hundreds of Department for Work and Pensions staff will go on strike for two weeks over Christmas over pay. More than 200 Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) members working for DWP officers plan to strike.
December strike dates: 19th to 31st
Highways workers
Members of the PCS union who are employees of National Highways, which operates and maintains roads in England, will head for the picket line. Traffic officers will help keep the roads moving and users safe through planning and delivering schemes as well as providing key safety services such as rolling roadblocks, smart motorways and lane closures.
December strike dates: 16th, 17th, 22nd to 24th, and 30th and 31st.
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