Schools out, trains out: Firms face ‘day of action’

Employers are gearing up for a potentially disruptive week as around half a million workers prepare to strike on Wednesday 1 February.

Union body the TUC has billed 1 February as a national “protect the right to strike” day, where workers across the public sector and beyond will stage industrial action over pay levels and the government’s plans to introduce anti-strike legislation in the form of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill.

The strikes most likely to impact employers on Wednesday are teachers’ and rail strikes, with commuters forced to stay home due to travel difficulties, lack of childcare or both.

Thousands of teachers across England and Wales will walk out this week unless the National Education Union and the government are able to come to a last-minute deal.

In ballots earlier this month, 90.4% of NEU members in England supported industrial action, and 92.3% in Wales.

There are also plans for further industrial action on 15 and 16 March, as well as a series of regional one-day strikes, meaning staff with school-age children could face taking multiple days’ leave or finding alternative working arrangements.

In Scotland, teachers have already staged walk-outs on 10 and 11 January, and there are plans for rolling strikes between 16 January and 6 February. In Northern Ireland, there is “action short of a strike” ongoing, and the NASUWT has announced a half-day strike for members in Northern Ireland on 21 February.

The NASUWT union in England and Wales failed to reach the ballot turnout level for members to strike, although those who did vote did so in favour of industrial action.

The NEU, the largest teaching union in England, argues that teachers have lost 23% in real-terms pay since 2010, with this year’s 5% rise way behind current levels of inflation.

Jenny Marsden, director of service at HR tech firm BrightHR, said employers should already have begun conversations with staff about their arrangements.

“If no alternative childcare is available then employers should consider flexible working arrangements, such as working from home,” she said.

“Disruption to normal childcare routines does not necessarily mean that a parent cannot work. As we saw during the pandemic, working from home can be a viable option for many, and not having to take time off means there is no impact on pay.”

Marsden acknowledged, however, that working from home is not possible for every job, and younger children may mean this is not a viable option.

“If this is the case, then employers can look at encouraging staff to take annual leave, time off in lieu (TOIL) or unpaid leave,” she added.

“The right to time off for dependants usually only covers emergency situations so might not apply here. Any strike action requires advance notice, which means working parents have time to prepare alternative childcare arrangements.”

Travel disruption

Where staff are able to make those arrangements, they may not be able to get to work due to industrial action by rail unions, however.

Train drivers’ union Aslef has called strikes on both Wednesday and Friday (3 February) this week, with around 12,500 drivers across 15 train companies set to walk out. Drivers who are members of the RMT union will also join the action.

Wednesday 1 February will see further strikes on Abellio bus routes in west and south London. Transport for London has indicated tube services should run, but will be busier than usual.

Announcing the coordinated day of action, the TUC’s new general secretary Paul Nowak said the right to strike was a “fundamental British liberty” that the government was attacking “in broad daylight”.

“Nobody should lose their job if they take lawful action to win a better deal. But ministers have gone from clapping our key workers to threatening them with the sack,” he said.

The list of workers staging strikes on 1 February currently includes:

• More than 100,000 members of the civil service union PCS, including staff from central government departments, the Health and Safety Executive, national museums, regulators Ofgem, Ofsted and Ofwat, and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA);
• University staff who are members of the University and College Union;
• Train drivers from Aslef and RMT unions; and
• Teachers in England and Wales from the NEU union.

The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill proposed by the government would force employers to maintain a skeleton service in health services, rail operations, education, fire and border security. Those asserting their right to strike and refusing to work could lose their jobs.

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