Teachers in England represented by the National Education Union have announced fresh strike action with walkouts due to take place in July.
It comes after NHS junior doctors went out on strike for 72 hours, starting on Wednesday until Saturday morning as part of an ongoing dispute over pay and working conditions.
Dr Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, joint general secretaries of the NEU, accused education secretary, Gillian Keegan, of refusing to re-enter negotiations, but said it is within her grasp to stop the strikes from going ahead.
They said: “Time and again the National Education Union, alongside its sister unions, have called for the education secretary to get around the negotiation table to settle this dispute for a fully funded teacher pay increase. Time and again our calls have fallen on stony ground.”
Meanwhile, major strikes by train operators have already caused complications for the public in recent weeks, making life difficult in half-term week and for those attending specific events like the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool, the FA Cup Final in London and the Epsom Derby as their own long-running pay disputes rumble on.
The most recent action by the RMT and Aslef on 31 May and 2-3 June came after months of negotiations with the government failed to yield a solution and is unlikely to prove the end of the matter.
Those were only the latest instances of strikes hitting Britain after a long winter in which thousands of workers took action.
From teachers and nurses to civil servants, postal workers and driving instructors, public sector workers have demanded salary increases in response to the ongoing cost of living crisis.
While some of the disputes have been averted – Heathrow security staff belonging to the Unite union recently postponed a series of strikes in order to ballot members on a new wage offer, for instance – many more unions are still planning fresh protests.
Here is a list of all the walkouts that have been announced so far for June and July 2023, with more likely to follow.
All the strike dates for June and July
Wednesday 14 June
Junior doctors in England commence 72-hour strike.
Thursday 15 June
Junior doctors’s strike continues.
Friday 16 June
Junior doctors’s strike continues.
Saturday 17 June
Junior doctors’s strike concludes at 7am.
Wednesday 5 July
Teachers in England commence two days of strike action.
Friday 7 July
Teachers’ strike in England concludes.
