A lot has changed since June 2022; the Queen had just celebrated 70 years on the throne, Boris Johnson had survived a vote of confidence and was still the UK’s prime minister, and the average mortgage rate sat just below 4%.
However, it was on 21 June 2022 – a year ago today – that members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) began their first of many walkouts at the train operating companies in a dispute over pay, jobs and conditions. That dispute remains unresolved and could be regarded as the strike that triggered the biggest national wave of industrial action since the 1980s.
Since then, thousands of workers across a variety of sectors, from transport to education, health to online retail, have gone on strike in a bid to achieve a better pay deal as inflation continues to erode wage rises.
According to the Office for National Statistics, 3.7 million working days were lost to strikes from June 2022 to April 2023.
But have the strikes had the desired effect on pay, and is an end to the disputes in sight?
Some recent pay deals could indicate that strikes have worked, with unions celebrating significant wins for their members.
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Some of the largest settlements agreed in the past few months include a 20% pay rise for refuse, street cleaning and grounds maintenance workers at Serco in North Norfolk and Breckland, who went on strike in March, organised by Unison and the GMB; an 18% settlement for Coca-Cola Europacific Partners staff in Wakefield, who were due to begin 14 days of strike action this month, organised by Unite; and a 16% pay rise for workers at Drax power station in Yorkshire – double the 8% offered before members of Unite went on strike in February.
Unions have suggested these inflation-busting pay settlements would not have been achieved without industrial action.
After agreeing to a 10% pay rise for staff at marine equipment manufacturer Survitec, in Dunmurry, Belfast, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said the deal was “considerably more than this company was offering even on the eve of their strike action”.
“This successful outcome has been achieved by the workers organising and taking action. After 10 days they have secured an increase that provides some protection in the current cost of living crisis,” she said.
Unison Eastern regional organiser Cameron Matthews said of the Serco deal in Norfolk: “Refuse, grounds, street cleaning and cleansing staff have fought hard to get Serco to cough up more cash after the multimillion-pound company spent months pleading poverty. We’re glad the firm has finally come up with an offer that is worth putting to the workers.”
Strike action by Communication Workers Union (CWU) members at BT Group last year forced the company to increase its pay offer to £1,500 for all full-time staff from January 2023.
The CWU told its members: “Make no mistake, your significant sacrifice in taking strike action, making a stand against BT and objecting to their original imposed pay rise in April ultimately forced BT back around the negotiating table. Without this, there would be no further pay increase. At best some people on lower pay may have received an imposed one-off cost of living payment in December.”
Unison assistant general secretary Jon Richards said: “Striking is not an easy option and is only used as a last resort where employers won’t budge. But it’s clear many wage rises only happened because workers were prepared to take a stand to get fairer pay.
“Industrial action is always more effective when the public understands what’s at stake and sympathises with the wage claims. Official figures also show pay rises are better where workers belong to well-organised unions.”
Deals without industrial action
However, some of the most significant increases were achieved without the need for strikes, including a 28% pay rise for 200 Luton airport staff employed by Menzies, and a 24% deal for Morrisons fuel tanker drivers, both brokered by Unite.
Unite’s Graham said of the Morrisons deal: “This is an excellent result. Our members voted decisively for industrial action and in doing so ensured that the employer returned to negotiations. Then the employer made a much-improved offer which was accepted by our members.”
The CWU also brokered a new pay deal at Virgin Media O2, ranging between 7% and 9%.
CWU national officer Tracey Fussey said in May: “The deal before members is undoubtedly at the top end of pay settlements across the whole of British industry at present, and for that, our members in Virgin Media O2 have every reason to be proud of their rock solid rejection of the two-year settlement the company tried to impose last year.”
National disputes ongoing
But major national disputes in many sectors are yet to be resolved, suggesting that strike action could continue for some time.
Strikes are happening because working people have simply had enough of this relentless attack on their living standards” – Gary Smith, GMB
For example, although the NHS staff council and several health unions accepted the NHS England pay deal earlier this year, members of the Royal College of Nursing and Unite are still in dispute with the government. Nurses in Scotland have accepted the deal, but those in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are still considering strike action.
Junior doctors, members of the British Medical Association, whose pay is covered by a different agreement to nurses, ambulance staff and other NHS workers, have rejected the government’s offer. In England, they went on strike again on 14-17 June, while in Scotland another strike is set for July. BMA Cymru Wales has accepted the Welsh government’s revised offer, and there are currently no plans to ballot junior doctors in Northern Ireland.
Another strike by teachers who are members of the National Education Union is expected in England in July, while other education unions are currently balloting members for further action. Disputes in Scotland and Wales have been resolved, but action short of a strike involving several teaching unions in Northern Ireland is ongoing.
In the rail sector, the RMT and Aslef still have a mandate for strike action, suggesting there could be further disruption – including a strike on 3-8 July by Aslef members. The dispute with the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) has ended.
Despite revised offers from train operators in these national disputes, there is little indication that we will see an end to the wave of industrial action gripping the UK any time soon, especially with inflation still running at 8.7%.
“For millions – NHS workers, carers, retail staff and so many more – this brutal cost of living crisis has become a permanent nightmare. Strikes are happening because working people have simply had enough of this relentless attack on their living standards,” said Gary Smith, GMB general secretary.
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“Bosses everywhere must start listening to the real problems being faced and deliver pay rises that stop their employees from continually getting poorer.”
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