As we approach the final week before Christmas, many services across the country will be disrupted by a series of strikes taking place in multiple industries and sectors.
Among those taking part in strike action include nurses, ambulance drivers, driving examiners, highway workers, and postal workers. It means that many important services which many rely on during the festive period will be disrupted, including postal services which are heavily used to send presents and Christmas cards.
Meanwhile, ambulance services and some health services will be heavily disrupted by the industrial action, with non-life-threatening emergency calls potentially not being attended to on the strike days.
Read more: The Greater Manchester streets where people are terrified of Christmas
Here are all the strikes taking place this week that could affect you...
Nurses
Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) union will stage a walkout on Tuesday, December 20. The strike will take place across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
While many treatment services are expected to be disrupted, the union has ensured that life-preserving care will continue to be provided, such as intensive and emergency services. Saffron Cordery, interim chief executive of NHS Providers, told BBC Breakfast that there is going to be an "incredibly challenging week" ahead.
She added: "Trust leaders across both hospitals and ambulance services will be doing everything that they can to put in place services that keep patients and the public as safe as possible.
“So it’s really important that people do remember that. And 999 calls that affect life and limb, those real emergencies will be answered.
“That’s the most important thing to say. However, it’s worth remembering that this is going to be an incredibly challenging and disrupted week, not only because we have the ambulance service coming out on strike across nearly every region, but also because we’ve got these sequential strikes.
“So we’ve got nurses’ industrial action on Tuesday, and then ambulance services on Wednesday, and I think one will impact the other.”
Ambulance drivers
Ambulance drivers will stage a walkout on Wednesday, December 21 across England and Wales over a pay dispute. While general ambulance services will be affected, life-threatening emergency calls will still be attended by drivers.
Unison union general secretary Christina McAnea said ambulance staff are striking because ministers refused to negotiate with them on pay. She said: "We have been calling on them for weeks and weeks to sit down and have a proper discussion about how we try and resolve this dispute, and they adamantly refuse to do that.
"They will not talk to us about the elephant in the room that is pay.”
Highway workers
Members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union in London and the southeast of England will take industrial action from December 22 to 25. National Highways traffic officers will halt work throughout the strike, however, no roads will be supposedly closed, according to National Highways.
Postal workers
Royal Mail staff will go on strike on December 23 and 24 at a time when delivery demands are at their highest. According to the Royal Mail, first and second-class letters will not be delivered on the strike days.
It adds that as many parcels and Special Delivery letters will be delivered as is possible under the conditions, with priority being given to prescriptions.
Border Force
Border Force workers will go on strike from December 23 to 26 as well as December 28-31. Among the airports that will be affected include Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, and Manchester.
The strike will likely cause severe delays to passport checks for travellers.
Railway workers
Members of the Rail, Maritime, and Transport Worker (RMT) union will stage a walkout on Saturday, December 24 to Tuesday, December 27. Severe disruptions are expected for railway services all across the country with many trains likely being either delayed or cancelled.
Bus drivers
Members of the Unite union in south and west London who work for operator Abellio will stage industrial action on December 24 due to a pay dispute.
Driving examiners
Members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union who are civil servants will stage a walkout. It means services such as driving examinations and some job centres will either be cancelled or heavily delayed.
The strike days are not completely national, with different parts of the UK staging strikes on different dates.
Read next:
