United Kingdom industrial disputes and strikes (2022–present)


Since May–June 2022, a series of labour strikes and industrial disputes have occurred in various industries of the United Kingdom's economy as workers walked out over pay and conditions. The strikes took place with rising inflation, and demands for pay increases that would keep pace with this inflation.
The strikes began on 15 June 2022 after members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers voted to strike over planned changes to their pay and working conditions. They were soon joined by other railway unions, and a series of one-day strikes halted trains in many parts of the British mainland. Train services operated at 20% of normal capacity on strike days. Public support for the strikes was organised through the Enough is Enough! campaign.
With industrial action on the railways ongoing, trade union members working in other industries voted to take industrial action, including telecommunications, the postal service, legal profession and freight, as well as other areas of the transport sector.

Transport

Rail transport

National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers

Following a ballot of National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers members over whether to take industrial action, it was announced on 24 May 2022 that they had voted in favour of strike action, paving the way for the UK's first national rail strike for three decades. Workers at Abellio Greater Anglia, Avanti West Coast, c2c, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Great Western, London North Eastern Railway, Northern Trains, Southeastern, South Western Railway, TransPennine Express and West Midlands Trains voted to strike, with 71% of those balloted taking part in the vote; of those 89% voting in favour of strike action and 11% against. The ballot at Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern did not support strike action but supported industrial action short of a strike. Mick Lynch, General Secretary of the RMT said the decision "sends a clear message that members want a decent pay rise, job security and no compulsory redundancies". The action would see the largest outbreak of industrial action in the United Kingdom since 1989, and the first national strike involving the UK's railways since 1994, when signal workers walked out over a pay dispute with Railtrack.
On 7 June, initial strike dates were announced for 21, 23 and 25 June, with rail employees at Network Rail and 13 train operators joining the action. It was also announced that the 21 June strike would coincide with a planned 24-hour strike to be held by workers on the London Underground. The 21 June walkout involved 40,000 rail staff, as well as 10,000 workers from London Underground. Further strikes were subsequently called for 27 July, 18 and 20 August. and 15 and 17 September. Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on 8 September, the strikes scheduled for 15 and 17 September were suspended. On 20 September a strike was announced for 1 October.
On 22 September, an RMT strike was announced for 8 October, which the union described as "effectively shutting down the railway network". As the 8 October strike approached, and with no further national strikes scheduled for after then, Mick Lynch announced that members would be balloted to determine if they wished to continue with the strikes. On 19 October, a further three strike days were announced for November, occurring on 3, 5, and 7 November. On 4 November the RMT announced the strikes had been suspended and that they would enter into "a period of intensive negotiations" with Network Rail and the train operators. Network Rail announced that because of the strikes had been called off at the eleventh hour there would remain "severe disruption" to services the following day, as well as on 7 November.
In Scotland, a separate strike was called for 10 October after the RMT rejected a 5% pay offer from ScotRail that was described as a "kick in the teeth". An RMT strike involving staff at Avanti West Coast was held on 22 October, forcing the cancellation of a number of services throughout the day.
On 22 November, the RMT announced four 48-hour strikes in the run up to Christmas and early 2023, with strike action scheduled for 13–14 December, 16–17 December, 3–4 January and 6–7 January. On 5 December, RMT staff working for Network Rail announced a strike over Christmas, beginning at 6pm on Christmas Eve and continuing until 6am on 27 December.
On 10 February 2023, the RMT's executive committee rejected a pay deal described by the Rail Delivery Group and Network Rail as their "best and final" offer, and said they would seek further negotiations. Industry and the UK government had wanted the deal to be put to the RMT's members in a ballot. On 16 February the RMT announced four new days of strikes during March and April, with the dates confirmed as 16, 18 and 30 March, and 1 April. On 7 March, RMT staff working for Network Rail called off a strike planned for 16 March after being given a fresh pay offer. On 22 March the strikes scheduled for 30 March and 1 April were called off following discussions with RMT representatives of train company staff and the Rail Delivery Group.
On 27 April 2023, and after the RMT rejected the latest pay offer from the Rail Delivery Group, a fresh strike was called for Saturday 13 May. On 4 May 2023, members of the RMT voted to renew the union's mandate to take strike action for a further six months. On 18 May, a further RMT strike was announced for 2 June. On 22 June, three further days of strike action were announced for 20, 22 and 29 July. On 11 August two days of weekend strike action were announced for Saturday 26 August and Saturday 2 September.
On 19 October 2023, members of the RMT voted to stage a further six months of strike action. On 8 November, it was confirmed that members of the RMNT would vote on a revised pay offer and guarantee of job security that would end the strike action if accepted. On 30 November, RMT members voted to accept the pay deal from 14 train companies, ending their strike action.

Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen

On 9 June, members of the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers & Firemen voted to strike in a separate dispute. The union, which represents train drivers, announced plans to hold strike action on 23 and 26 June and 13 and 14 July. The train operators affected were Abellio Greater Anglia, Hull Trains and Tramlink. ASLEF members staged a strike on 2 July, affecting 90% of train services operated by Abellio Greater Anglia.
On 11 July, members of the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen at eight train operators voted to take strike action in a dispute over pay, while members of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association at South Western Railway also voted to take industrial action. On 14 July, ASLEF announced that train drivers at eight train companies – Arriva Rail London, Chiltern Railways, Great Western Railway, LNER, Greater Anglia, Southeastern, Hull Trains and West Midlands Trains – would strike on 30 July, involving around 5,500 union members. A second day of ASLEF strike action was subsequently staged on 13 August.
On 25 August, train drivers at Chiltern Railways, Northern Trains and TransPennine Express belonging to the ASLEF union voted to take strike action in a dispute over pay and conditions.
On 31 August, ASLEF announced that train drivers from 12 train companies would strike on 15 September, but the strike was suspended following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on 8 September. On 20 September a further two strikes were announced for 1 and 5 October.
On 10 November, the ASLEF union announced that around 9,500 train divers at 12 train operators would strike on 26 November. On 20 December, ASLEF announced a 24-hour strike involving drivers at 15 train companies for 5 January 2023, falling in between two strikes announced by the RMT for January. On 17 January ASLEF announced a further two strikes, to be held on 1 and 3 February.
On 27 April 2023, and after a pay offer from the Rail Delivery Group was rejected, fresh strikes were announced for 12 May, 31 May and 3 June. Following this, a six-day overtime ban was announced, involving train drivers at 16 train operators and beginning from Monday 3 July, threatening disruption to services. On 18 August, a strike was announced for Friday 1 September, followed by an overtime ban on Saturday 2 September. On 15 September, a further two strike days were announced for 30 September and 4 October. On 16 November, ASLEF announced new strike dates, with a rolling programme of strikes from 2 December to 8 December affecting different train companies on different days.
On 15 January 2024, another week of strike action was announced by the ASLEF train drivers union, to run from Tuesday 30 January until Monday 5 February, with drivers from different companies striking on different days throughout the week. On 14 February, ASLEF announced that drivers at five train operators – Chiltern, c2c, East Midlands, Northern and TransPennine – had voted for a further six months of industrial action.
On 14 August 2024, and following further negotiations with the Department for Transport, ASLEF announced it would ballot its members on a revised pay offer. On 18 September, ASLEF announced that its members had accepted a pay deal of 15% from the UK government, ending two years of strike action in England, Wales and Scotland.
Avanti West Coast dispute
On 16 June, drivers at Avanti West Coast announced a one-day strike on 2 July over the terms of sick pay. This strike was subsequently called off on 22 June after Avanti agreed to remove the policy regarding sick pay. A second six-day overtime ban commenced from Monday 17 July, with a third announced on that date to begin on Monday 31 July.
London North Eastern Railway
On 22 January 2024, a planned five-day strike by train drivers belonging to ASLEF at LNER beginning on 5 February was called off.
On 16 August 2024, ASLEF announced that its members at LNER would stage strikes every weekend through September and October, as well as two in November, following what it describes as a break down in industrial relations and agreements. On 29 August, it was announced the strikes had been called off following last-minute talks between union and company officials.