Workers in numerous industries are taking strike action in the coming days and weeks in Bristol. As the railway workers and postal workers continue with their action this week, more sectors will join picket lines across the city, from nurses to Uber drivers.
The Royal College of Nursing is set to hold its first strike in its 106-year history. The common theme is that pay is not keeping up with inflation. Nurses are asking that they be paid a rate that is five per cent higher than inflation to make up for historic pay freezes. Alongside the large national disputes, Bristol City Council housing officers will withdraw their labour this week as part of an ongoing dispute.
READ MORE: Unions boycott Bristol pub after landlord turns away striking rail workers' Christmas do
Unite members across the UK working for the charity Shelter are in the middle of a two-week dispute which began on December 5. Workers in Bristol are among those on strike until December 16 and have held pickets on Brunswick Square in St Pauls.
Two 48-hour walk outs will take place this week with Railway workers from the RMT and TSSA both out on strike. The action takes place on December 13-14 and December 16-17.
The railway strikes are set to continue in January and the RMT will be on strike on Christmas Eve and December 27. You can find out more here.
Uber drivers are striking this Wednesday (December 14) and are urging Bristol customers not to use the app for the 24-hour period commencing at midnight on Tuesday, December 13. Members of the App Drivers and Couriers Union will hold a public demonstration at 1pm on Upper York Street outside the Bristol Uber office.
They are striking over ‘smart pricing’, a change to the way journeys are calculated that they say leaves drivers financially worse off. You can find out more about the Uber strike and demonstration here.
CWU members from Royal Mail will hold another 48-hour strike this week on Wednesday and Thursday. The postal workers' strike is set to continue on December 23 and Christmas Eve. Postal workers are striking over pay and changes in employment conditions. You can find out more about the strike here.
Housing officers working for Bristol City Council will be on strike this week. Unite members will strike on December 14, 15 and 16. They are calling on the council to reduce their work loads and allocate additional resources. You can find out more about their strike here.
The Royal College of Nursing will commence its national strike action on Thursday (December 15). Nurses will also withdraw their labour on December 20 in two 12-hour strikes between 8am and 8pm. Nurses working at Southmead Hospital and the Bristol Royal Infirmary will participate in the upcoming strike. You can find out more about the reasons for their strike here.
Ambulance workers from the GMB union will join them with planned industrial action set to take place on December 21 and 28. Junior doctors may go on strike in the new year if they vote to strike in January.
PCS members working as legal advisors and court associates at Bristol Magistrates' Court will join their colleagues striking across the country from December 24 until January 4. PCS members in the Border Force will also strike across major UK airports between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve but Bristol Airport will be unaffected.
Traffic officer service employees in the PCS will be on strike nationally with different dates listed for different regions . Workers in the south west and west Midlands will strike on December 30 and 31.
The wave of strikes across the country had been largely driven by rail and mail strikes but as wages continue to drop below inflation more sectors are set to strike into the new year. Strike ballots for teachers and firefighters are due to close in January 2023 and Junior doctors will also vote over strike action next month.
The latest ONS data reveals that in October alone 417,000 days were lost because of labour disputes, the highest since November 2011 when up to two million Public Sector workers went on strike.
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