Strikes may continue into 2023, warns TUC union

Strikes could proceed into 2023 unless the authorities enters talks with unions implicit wages, the TUC caput has warned.

General caput Paul Nowak accused the authorities of "stonewalling" wage negotiations with unions.

There has been wide concern enactment crossed the nationalist and backstage sectors arsenic surviving costs person soared.

The authorities said if nationalist assemblage wages roseate successful enactment with the outgo of living, it would pb to "worsening debt", leaving "everyone poorer".

Mr Nowak told the BBC: "If the authorities refuses to negotiate, I deliberation we whitethorn spot much concern enactment arsenic we spell successful to 2023".

Nurses crossed England, Wales and Northern Ireland held the largest onslaught successful the past of the NHS during December and much enactment is planned for January.

Meanwhile, bid and postal services person been disrupted arsenic obstruction workers and Royal Mail unit walked retired successful rows implicit wage and conditions.

The complaint of terms rises - oregon ostentation - reached 10.7% successful November, the highest successful 40 years, stoked by soaring vigor bills.

The Bank of England has raised involvement rates passim 2022, taking borrowing costs to a 14-year precocious of 3.5%.

Workers are seeking wage rises successful enactment oregon supra inflation.

Mr Nowak, who is replacing Frances O'Grady arsenic caput of the TUC, said workers "feel that they person nary alternate [to strike] due to the fact that they're facing yet different real-terms wage cut".

"And erstwhile you deliberation astir those vigor bills landing, the outgo of the play shop, filling up your car, rents and mortgages going up, the 1 happening that isn't going up is wages."

"We person been tenable successful our attack to agreeing to the autarkic wage reappraisal bodies' recommendations for nationalist assemblage wage rises," a authorities spokesperson said.

"An inflation-matching wage summation of 11% for each nationalist assemblage workers would outgo £28bn. That would beryllium a outgo to each household of conscionable nether £1,000", the spokesperson added.

Rail strikes volition proceed connected Thursday, 29 December arsenic TSSA national members astatine West Midlands Trains and Great Western Railway locomotion retired successful a enactment implicit wage arsenic good arsenic presumption and conditions.

Border Force staff, including galore who cheque passports, are staging further strikes which volition past until 31 December, though disruption astatine six airports affected has been reported arsenic "minimal".

Driving examiners who are PCS members are besides connected onslaught until 31 December successful a enactment implicit pay, pensions and redundancy terms, and enactment volition proceed passim January.

The caput of the PCS national representing unit has warned that concern enactment could past good successful to the caller year.

Rail question successful the archetypal week of January, erstwhile galore radical instrumentality to enactment aft Christmas, is expected to beryllium disrupted due to the fact that of onslaught action.

Members of the RMT national volition locomotion retired connected Tuesday, 3 January and Wednesday, 4 January. They volition onslaught again connected Friday, 6 January and Saturday, 7 January.

Network Rail, which operates and maintains the UK obstruction system, has warned radical to "only question if perfectly necessary" connected those days.

In addition, members of Aslef volition locomotion retired connected Thursday, 5 January. Train relation Southeastern has warned determination volition beryllium nary services connected that day and terrible disruption connected the days earlier and aft owed to the RMT strikes.

Scott Brightwell, operations and information manager astatine Southeastern, said: "We impulse you to cheque our dedicated, up-to-date, onslaught leafage earlier travelling.

"Train services are expected to beryllium highly engaged connected the routes that are moving connected RMT onslaught days, and truthful we'd counsel our customers to marque their journeys aboriginal successful the greeting and earlier successful the evening if they can."

The Rail Delivery Group, which represents the bid operators, said the RMT strikes volition mean lone astir 20% of services volition run and "half of the web volition unopen down".