Britain has had a difficult time of it in 2022, emerging from two years in the grip of the coronavirus only to be confronted by a dire cost of living crisis defined by runaway inflation and rocketing energy bills exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Now, as Christmas approaches, we find ourselves in a new “winter of discontent” with the country’s unions, representing workers from a wide range of public-facing professions, concluding that they have no choice but to undertake industrial action as their calls for improved pay and working conditions go unanswered while rising prices erode earnings.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union has organised strike days throughout December and into January, as 40,000 workers down tools at one of the busiest periods of the year in a bid to force improved terms.
“Despite every effort made by our negotiators, it is clear that the government is directly interfering with our attempts to reach a settlement,” it has said of its latest walkouts.
“The union suspended previous strike action in good faith to allow for intensive negotiations to resolve the dispute. Yet Network Rail have failed to make an improved offer on jobs, pay and conditions for our members during the last two weeks of talks.”
Responding, Network Rail’s chief negotiator Tim Shoveller has said: “No one can deny the precarious financial hole in which the railway finds itself. Striking makes that hole bigger and the task of finding a resolution ever more difficult.
“We will not give up and hope that the RMT will return to the table with a more realistic appreciation of the situation.”
The Communication Workers’ Union, representing postal workers, is also at odds with Royal Mail over its members’ wages, leading to walkouts at a time when the public will be shopping for Christmas presents online and relying on deliveries more than ever.
Royal Mail says it has “well-developed contingency plans” in place but “cannot fully replace the daily efforts of our frontline workforce,” assuring customers it would be “doing what we can to keep services running” while warning that the strikes are “likely to cause you some disruption”.
Both Royal College of Nursing (RCN) members and ambulance staff represented by the GMB, Unite and Unison unions are likewise going on strike over pay and conditions within the NHS.
RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said: “Nursing staff have had enough of being taken for granted, enough of low pay and unsafe staffing levels, enough of not being able to give our patients the care they deserve.”
Also striking this month are G4S staff, London bus drivers, Eurostar security personnel, Border Force agents, Heathrow baggage handlers, Scottish teachers, driving examiners in northern England and Scotland and National Highway Workers around the country, all of which adds up to huge disruption for the public and service complications for businesses across the country.
In fact, there is only one day this month – by The Independent’s count – for which there is no major protest demonstration currently scheduled, Saturday 10 December, and that could well change.
Here is a timeline of all of the strike dates announced so far for December 2022 and early January 2023.
Tuesday 20 December
Royal College of Nurses strike – England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Driving examiners strike – northern England and Scotland
Wednesday 21 December
GMB, Unite, Unison ambulance workers and NHS staff strike
