Public sector strikes: where are we now

The government has been accused of prioritising unions over pensioners after it announced a £100 million pay deal with train drivers.

Pensioners are "being deprived of the winter fuel allowance, taxpayers are facing tax hikes and passengers are facing higher fares", Helen Whately, the shadow transport secretary, told The Times – "all as a result of this government's choice to put the unions first".

Transport

The government believes that the pay deal with train drivers' union Aslef – worth about £9,000 to the average member – is "ultimately better value" for taxpayers than allowing strikes that have cost the railways £850 million in lost revenue to "drag on", said The Times.

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Drivers at London North Eastern Railway (LNER) still intend to carry out a series of strikes in September, October and November, but this is a "separate" action relating to a "breakdown in industrial relations" with the operator, said the BBC.

The government deal could have a "knock-on effect" with other rail unions, which have made clear they expect to be offered the same terms given to train drivers, said The Times. Negotiations will resume this week with the RMT union, which represents workers such as guards, station staff and signallers.

Elsewhere, 650 passport control staff will strike at Heathrow airport from 31 August to 3 September, raising the prospect of "misery" for travellers flying over the last weekend of the summer holidays, said The Telegraph. Border Force employees are said to be "unhappy with changes to rosters and shift patterns".

Doctors and nurses

Last month, the new government announced a deal with junior doctors for a 22% pay rise to end industrial action, following negotiations between the health secretary, Wes Streeting, and BMA leaders. But the Daily Express claimed that "rotating and newly qualified" junior doctors plan to launch more pay strikes next April.

Senior doctors in England ended their pay dispute with the government this April, when consultants belonging to two major trade unions backed a deal that saw some receive a pay increase of nearly 20% for the financial year 2023-24.

Meanwhile, thousands of nurses in the RCN union have until September to vote on whether to accept the government's proposed 5.5% pay award. It would be a "mistake" to accept it, said Socialist Worker, because such a "marginal gain will do nothing to improve the recruitment crisis, short staffing and overwork that nurses endure now".

Teachers

Teaching unions said that more school strikes in England are "now unlikely" after they welcomed the government's offer of a 5.5% pay rise from September. The offer, which is being funded by an additional £1.2 billion from the government, is a "welcome step in the right direction", the National Education Union told the BBC.

The calmer rhetoric came after Britain's biggest teaching union had earlier warned Keir Starmer that strikes are almost "inevitable" unless the government agreed to pay rises.

Local government

"Two of the three unions representing local government workers have rejected this year's pay offer and are considering strike action," said the Local Government Chronicle.

After ministers promised other public sector workers pay rises, the Local Government Association told the LGC that it will "continue to make the case" for additional funding to enable higher pay for local government staff.

A ballot on further strike action will open on 4 September and close on 16 October.

Rubbish collection 

Unions have suspended planned strike action by waste workers in Scotland after a new pay offer from council leaders. The proposed deal would usher in a 3.6% increase for all grades of staff, with a rise of £1,292 for the lowest paid, equivalent to 5.63%.

Edinburgh breathed a sigh of relief at the news as the city "faced a repeat" of strikes seen during the Edinburgh Festival in 2022, said The Guardian. Then there were "mounds of uncollected bin bags, overflowing recycling bins and unsightly food-covered pavements".

But bin workers in Birmingham could go on strike if the council goes ahead with plans to cut their roles and pay by thousands of pounds a year, said Birmingham Live. The restructuring plans would "downgrade" the role of the city's 150 waste recycling and collection officers, cutting their pay by an average of £8,000 per year.