Strike action is set to hit Cumbria and Northumberland this we as industrial disputes worsen in the run up to the festive period.

Workers from across different sectors are taking strike action over a number of different issues including pay, working conditions and pensions.

The government has called an emergency Cobra meeting to discuss how to cope with the upcoming strikes including a plan to use members of the armed forces to help hospitals cope with planned NHS strikes.

This winter has seen some of the largest scale industrial action seen in the UK since the 1980s with workers, many of whom were classed as key workers in the pandemic, asking for pay rises at inflation level or above to help cope with the rise in the cost-of-living.

Union members who are part of the North West and North East ambulance service will walk out on December 21 and the unions have said they will offer “life and limb” cover during the walkouts but details of which patients will be prioritised have not yet been confirmed.

Nurses are also set to walk out on Thursday, December 15 and Tuesday, December 20 but not across the whole region.

Nurses at Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and the Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will be out on strike action but nurses across Cumbria will not take strike action due to not enough nurses voting to walk out.

Nurses have promised to call off the planned strikes if the government commits to holding talks about a potential pay rise.

Rail strikes will also begin this week, with staff taking strike action on December 13, 14, 16 and 17 which covers one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

Services on Avanti West Coast, Northern and TransPennie Express will all be affected by the planned action in the RMT’s long running dispute about pay and job security with more strikes expected in the new year if no progress is made.

Postal workers will also walk out again on December 14, 15, 23 and 24 which will have an effect on the busiest postal periods of the year.

Despite “well-developed contingency plans”, Royal Mail has acknowledged that these “cannot fully replace the daily efforts of its frontline workforce”, with significant disruption on strike dates.

Highway workers, border force staff, driving instructors and civil servants are also taking strike action before Christmas with junior doctors and teachers also being balloted over potential strike action into the new year ensuring strikes will remain on the agenda well into the new year.

 

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