Britain is set to be brought to its knees later this month and at the start of August with union workers set to walk out of their jobs and kick start a ‘Summer of Discontent’.
BT and Openreach staff will join rail workers, healthcare, postal and civil service professionals when they go on strike on July 29 and August 1 in a dispute over pay.
Binmen and court staff will also hold industrial action as unions threaten to cause chaos across the country with few industries left untouched.
Some of this will impact the Commonwealth Games, which are being held in Birmingham from July 28, with refuse workers in the West Midlands going on strike in its opening week.
The strike action will be a bitter pill to swallow for the public, who have already had to deal with travel chaos earlier in the summer when the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, led by militant boss Mick Lynch, went on strike.
Mr Lynch, who led 50,000 workers on strike last month, has called for renewed industrial action in August that will cause further misery for travellers and commuters.
RMT workers at Network Rail and 14 train operators will go on strike again on August 18 and August 20.
That’s in addition to rail strikes that are already set to take place at the end of July when members of the Aslef and TSSA unions walk out of their jobs.
The general secretary of the RMT union said he felt the public was ‘right behind’ workers, but the unions have been criticised by one Government minister who claimed the action is designed to ’cause as much misery as possible’.
The coordinated strike action comes as unions across the country call for pay increases to match inflation as the cost of living crisis squeezes household finances.
Mick Lynch said of the strike action: ‘The public seem to be right behind us, many of the public are in the same position as our members’
Commuters board a bus at a bus stop, during an RMT walkout on the London Underground on June 6
RMT Members shelter under a tree during a heavy shower on the picket line outside Kings Cross station on June 23, 2022
While rail unions continue to strike in their ongoing row with Network Rail and rail operators, they are being joined by workers from other sectors.
Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) from BT and Openreach will walk out on July 29 and August 1 after voting overwhelmingly for industrial action last month.
The union said it wanted a ‘substantial’ pay rise, especially with the spiralling rate of inflation, arguing that BT could afford it.
Those involved in the row look after the majority of Britain’s telecoms infrastructure, from mobile phone connection, broadband internet and back-up generators to national heath systems, cyber security and data centres.
It will be the first strike action at BT Group since 1987 and the first national call centre workers’ strike, said the union, adding that 40,000 workers were involved in the dispute.
CWU general secretary Dave Ward said: ‘For the first time since 1987, strike action will now commence at BT Group.
‘This is not a case of an employer refusing to meet a union’s demands – this is about an employer refusing to meet us whatsoever.’
It comes as refuse collection workers in the West Midlands are to strike on the opening week of the Commonwealth Games.
Members of the GMB union will take five days of action – on July 28, when the Games open in Birmingham, July 29 and August 4, 5 and 8.
The union said private contractor Serco, which runs refuse collection services across Sandwell, had offered a real terms pay cut to workers.
Justine Jones, GMB Midlands organiser, said: ‘Strike action is a last resort, but Serco top brass have forced the hand of hundreds of hard-working local refuse workers.
‘Our members have asked for nothing more than a fair pay rise, after keeping communities here in Sandwell clean and safe throughout the pandemic.
‘The eyes of the world will be on our area during the Commonwealth Games, it’s a shame that Serco have put the bottom line before their own workforce and community in this way.
‘This is a big distraction from the Games and we hope Serco see sense and urgently bring a pay offer to the table that reflects the hard work and dedication of our members.’
Court security staff are to stage a series of strikes after voting to take action in a dispute over pay.
Members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) employed by private contractors OCS, will walk out on July 29 and August 2, 3 and 4.
They have rejected a pay offer the union said was worth 27p an hour above the national minimum wage of £9.50.
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: ‘Our members are facing a cost-of-living crisis but, instead of helping them, OCS continues to offer poverty pay.
‘The courts are already struggling with a large backlog of cases, and not having security officers will bring them to a standstill.’
The union is calling for a £500 one-off payment, full occupational sick pay from day one, an additional day’s annual leave and paid time off for medical appointments.
A Courts and Tribunals spokesperson said: ‘Minimal disruption is expected from this proposed action and we continue to work closely with OCS to maintain the safety of all court users.’
Meanwhile Union baron Mick Lynch today insisted the public was ‘right behind’ his union’s bid to cripple the rail network with a summer of strike chaos – as two further days of walkouts were announced for August 18 and 20.
Members of his Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) at Network Rail and 14 train operators have vowed to walk out over the worsening dispute over jobs, pay and working conditions.
The action announced yesterday is in addition to a planned 24-hour strike by the RMT at train companies and Network Rail on July 27 and by TSSA members on Avanti West Coast on the same day.
Meanwhile, Aslef has said train drivers at eight rail companies will strike on July 30 in a dispute over their pay.
Criminal defence lawyers gather outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, United Kingdom on July 11, 2022, supporting the ongoing Criminal Bar Association (CBA) strikes over government set fees for legal aid advocacy work.
Mr Lynch (centre) on a Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) picket line outside outside Euston station in London
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has accused Aslef of ‘cynically orchestrating’ strike dates to coincide with the Commonwealth Games, with unions ‘determined to cause as much misery as possible’.
He added: ‘The average rail worker already earns £44,000, significantly more than the people who will be most impacted by their walkout – the very same people who stumped up £600 per household to keep the railway running throughout the pandemic and ensure not a single person lost their job.’
He noted the average train driver earned just under £60,000 a year.
Asked if public support could ‘evaporate’ due to the disruption caused to people’s lives and the economy, Mr Lynch told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘The public seem to be right behind us, many of the public are in the same position as our members.
‘They have not had a pay rise, they feel they are being exploited by the employers and they feel that the Government is pushing down on wages in order to protect profits in this country, which are still at higher levels, and dividends are still being paid out.
‘Corporate Britain is making plenty of money on the backs of low-paid workers and our members feature in that, and we need to get a square deal for them so that they can face the cost-of-living challenge which is best addressed through their pay packets.’
With the latest strike dates announced for the middle of the British summer time, thousands of people’s holiday plans are expected to be impacted. The new dates also coincide with the inaugural ‘Camp Bestival Shropshire’, potentially leaving thousands of revelers to find alternative travel arrangements to the event.
Camp Bestival Shropshire – the first iteration of the family festival ‘Bestival’ that is held annually in Dorset – will run from August 18 to August 21, meaning the August 18 strike date will impact travel on the event’s first day.
Network Rail hit out at the union, saying that the announcement of more strikes ‘dropped any pretence that this is about reaching a deal’. ‘It’s clear the best interests of passengers and our staff are taking second place to the union’s bosses’ political campaign,’ Andrew Haines, chief executive of Network Rail, said yesterday night.
A spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group – the British rail industry membership body – said: ‘This is a hugely disappointing announcement from the RMT’s leadership which will upset passengers’ summer plans, undermine struggling businesses and upend the industry’s recovery.’
The companies involved in the RMT strikes are: Network Rail, Chiltern Railways, Cross Country Trains, Greater Anglia, LNER, East Midlands Railway, c2c, Great Western Railway, Northern Trains, South Eastern, South Western Railway, Transpennine Express, Avanti West Coast, West Midlands Trains and GTR (including Gatwick Express).
The RMT was criticised by Britain’s Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which called on the union’s leaders to return to talks.
‘We want to give our people an increase in pay, but asking taxpayers to shoulder more of the burden when they have already contributed £600 per household during the pandemic, or expecting passengers to fund it by paying more for their tickets, isn’t fair or sustainable,’ the RDG said in a statement.
Passengers wait at a bus stop outside Clapham Junction station in south-west London during another strike on June 21
‘Instead, we have a responsibility to make changes to long-outdated working practices so we can adapt to post-Covid travel patterns, bring our railway up to date and give our passengers a more punctual and reliable service.
‘Rather than staging counterproductive strikes, we ask the RMT’s leadership to continue talking so we can come to a deal that works for our people, our passengers and for taxpayers.’
Today’s announcement followed that from another union – Aslef – which said train drivers at eight rail companies will strike on July 30 in a dispute over their pay.
Members of Aslef at Arriva Rail London, Chiltern Railways, Greater Anglia, Great Western, Hull Trains, LNER, Southeastern and West Midlands Trains will walk out.
Drivers on Greater Anglia and the Stansted Express will also strike on July 23, and those on Hull Trains will strike on July 16, 17, 23 and 24.
The Aslef strike dates will likely impact Brits and tourists heading to some major events this month including the Women’s Euro final at Wembley and the first weekend of Championship football.
It comes as at least two train operators have suspended ticket sales for the proposed strike dates after unions rejected the pay offer from Network Rail and announced the strike dates earlier this week.
Both Avanti West Coast and LNER are no longer selling tickets for that date which has been mooted as the next potential day of strike action by militant union barons with operators warning both July 26 and 28 are also likely to be affected.