With a government said to be ‘missing in action’ and failing to engage in any meaningful dialogue with unions, the strike action of recent months is set to continue into March.
Similar to the February 1 day of action, which saw half a million people simultaneously strike across the UK, March 15 will see tube drivers, civil servants, and teachers take part in a major walkout on the day the chancellor will announce his Spring Budget.
Different sectors are planning additional walkouts throughout the month. Here’s a list of strike dates in upcoming weeks.
Trains
In the long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions, the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) has announced rail workers at 14 major companies will strike on March 16, 18, 30 and April 1. Members working for National Rail will also walk out on March 16.
Tubes
Aslef has said that 99 percent of its drivers had voted in favour of strike action. Tube drivers will walk out on the March 15 day of action.
Universities
University staff, including academics, librarians, and other staff, will strike on March 16, 17, 20, 21 and 22. Industrial action that was due to take place in February and on March 1 and 2 was paused, following positive talks around a pay deal with the University and College Union (UCU).
Jo Grady, UCU general secretary, had said: “To allow our ongoing negotiations to continue in a constructive environment, we have agreed to pause action across our pay and working conditions and USS pensions disputes for the next two weeks and create a period of calm.”
Teachers
The National Education Union (NEU) has confirmed there will be a walkout on February 28 in England in the North, North West and Yorkshire and Humber. On March 1, members will strike in the West Midlands, East Midlands, and the East. Teachers in London, the South East and South West will strike on March 2, when NEU members in Wales will also walk out.
The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) has confirmed there will be two national strikes on February 28 and March 2. They will be joined by the NASUWT teachers’ union.
If a resolution is not reached, the EIS is planning an additional 20 days of rolling action from March 13 to April 21. Regional strikes by the teachers’ union are also planned on March 7 and 9 in parts of Perthshire, Dunfermline, Glasgow, Mid Galloway, East Dunbartonshire and Wigtown West.
Civil servants
On March 15, the day of the Spring Budget, around 100,000 civil servants are due to strike. The PCS union has said members at 123 government departments and agencies will strike in what will be the second mass strike since the union began its action in December.
The PCS is calling for a 10 percent pay rise, along with better pension conditions, job security and no cuts to redundancy terms. When announcing the March strike, Serworka had said officials are “suffering a completely unacceptable decline in their pay.”
Royal Mail
Following 18 days of strike action over pay and unagreed changes to terms and conditions in 2022, members of Communication Workers Union (CWU) have voted for further industrial action.
As spokesperson for Royal Mail said: “We are disappointed that the CWU members who took part in the ballot have voted in favour of taking further industrial action.
“Royal Mail remain committed to resolving this dispute and want to agree a pay and change deal for our people.”
The strike dates have yet to be confirmed.
Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead is a contributing editor to Left Foot Forward
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