UK motorways, trains and air transport will be affected by multiple strikes over the Christmas holidays, complicating family gatherings and holidays for Britons and tourists after two years of the pandemic.
The civil servants’ union PCS, which is leading a series of actions in various areas of public administration, announced on Friday that highway workers “will take part in 12 days of strike on English roads between December 16 and January 7”.
The union claims that traffic may be “paralyzed” as a result of the protest.
“We know that the actions of our members can cause inconvenience to travelers who wish to visit their loved ones over the festive period, but are being forced to do so by a government that does not listen to its workforce,” PCS denounced in a statement.
“Given the severe cost of living crisis, they deserve to be properly paid for the important work they do in keeping our roads safe,” he added.
The CSO is also required to announce new strike dates for other ministries, including the Interior Ministry, in the coming weeks.
At the same time, strikes by rail workers organized by several unions over months to demand wage increases in line with high inflation will continue throughout December, and security guards on the London Eurostar train were recalled for several days. It strikes with the European continent.
The TSSA union on Friday announced a broader-than-planned general railway strike for December 17, as more of its members will join the strike called by RMT, another large union.
Workers on the London Underground’s Elizabeth line will also vote on a possible strike, to demand a wage increase of more than 4% offered by Transport for London management.
Finally, the 350 baggage staff who work for a subcontractor at Heathrow Airport, one of Europe’s largest, planned to call a 72-hour strike starting December 16.
The UK has suffered repeated strikes for months in countless sectors of the economy, led by logistics and postal services, in the face of 11% inflation and an acute cost of living crisis.
Nurses and ambulance staff also called an unprecedented strike in December.
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