BRITS are facing major disruption to their summer holidays as strikes across a range of sectors are planned for July and August.
Disputes over pay and working conditions mean staff in hospitals, airports, rail and even snack factories will walk-out of work.
A wave of strikes are set to wreak havoc on holidaymakers across July and August
Last week Rishi Sunak warned unions representing public sector workers there will be no more negotiations with ministers over pay.
It came as the Treasury accepted salary hikes of 5 per cent and over for military personnel, cops, teachers and NHS staff.
The rises were recommended by the independent pay review body and will be paid for through “reprioritising” budgets, alongside a huge rise in the NHS surcharge legal migrants pay when they move to the UK.
While education unions have accepted the deal, others remain unsatisfied.
And in the private sector there’s frustration too.
Here’s a full list of strikes planned for the summer months.
Airports
More than 1,000 workers at Gatwick Airport, including baggage handlers and check in staff, are set to walk-out later this month, risking chaos for happy holidaymakers.
An initial strike will take place for four days beginning on Friday 28 July and ending on Tuesday 1 August.
Then, a further four days of walk-outs will take place from Friday 4 August until Tuesday 8 August.
The Unite union, which has called on the strike, said holidaymakers should expect “inevitable” flight cancellations, delays and disruption.
Analytic website Cirium said as many as 4,410 flights are due to depart Gatwick Airport during the strike, working out to 840,000 passengers.
Those involved in the dispute are employed by ASC, Menzies Aviation, GGS and DHL Services, which conduct outsourced operations for airlines including ground handling, baggage handling, ramp agent, dispatchers, and check-in.
Unite said it has been in negotiations with the four companies since January but claimed they have failed to make offers that meets the workers’ expectations.
Rail
Rail unions have been at loggerheads with ministers over pay and conditions for months.
Multiple offers have been made by the Rail Delivery Group, which manages the railways, on behalf of the government.
But they’ve been turned down by union chiefs who desperately want inflation-busting hikes.
The next set of national rail strikes are due to coincide with the fourth and fifth Ashes tests happening on Thursday 20 July, Saturday 22 July and Saturday 29 July.
RMT boss Mick Lynch said around 20,000 rail workers, including station staff and managers, will take part.
On Sunday 23 July the RMT will also kick off a six-day strike on the London Underground.
That is due to end on Friday 28 July.
Further industrial action will also happen from Monday31 July to Saturday August 5, when members of the ASLEF union will refuse to work overtime.
Members of the RMT will strike on the following lines:
- Avanti West Coast
- C2C
- Chiltern Railways
- CrossCountry
- East Midlands Railway
- GTR (includes Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern and Gatwick Express)
- Great Western Railway
- Greater Anglia (includes Stansted Express)
- LNER
- Northern Trains
- Southeastern
- South Western Railway
- TransPennine Express
- West Midlands Trains
- GTR operates Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern and Gatwick Express.
ASLEF action will affect the following companies:
- Avanti West Coast
- Chiltern Railways
- Cross Country
- East Midlands Railway
- Greater Anglia
- GWR
- GTR Great Northern Thameslink
- Island Line
- LNER
- Northern Trains
- Southeastern
- Southern
- Gatwick Express
- South Western Railway main line
- SWR depot drivers
- TransPennine Express
- West Midlands Trains
NHS
Doctors represented by the British Medical Association (BMA) have resoundingly rejected a 6% pay rise offer from the government.
They say in real-terms wages have been cut by over 30% and they’re demanding at the very least a rise that meets inflation.
Junior doctors are currently partaking in their fourth of five strike days.
On Thursday 20 July a fresh set of walk-outs will begin, but this time its consultant doctors taking action.
The senior doctors will leave work for two days.
The BMA insists derogations have been made to ensure there is cover where life and limb is at stake.
Snacks
Snack-loving Brits could see supplies of their favourite nuts threatened by industrial action.
Angry workers at KP Snacks are poised to hold a vote today on downing tools, which would delay supplies to pubs and supermarkets.
Staff are mad that the company made £54 million profit last year which is a massive increase of 275 per cent over the past five years.
The current offer on the table is a 6 per cent boost to pay, plus a £1,000 one-off payment.
Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham said: “KP Snacks has increased its profits by 275 per cent since 2018. This year workers won’t accept being paid peanuts.
“To exclude the lowest paid workers from the pay negotiations all together is corporate greed in action. Especially when KP Snacks made £54 million in profit. The workers have Unite’s steadfast support.”
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