Civil service union warns of possible strikes by junior doctors and teachers

The caput of the largest civilian servants national has warned ministers that “coordinated and synchronised” onslaught enactment crossed the system volition “significantly escalate” from January.

Mark Serwotka, wide caput of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), was speaking arsenic his members employed successful passport power for Border Force acceptable up picket lines astatine Britain’s largest airports connected Wednesday, successful a four-day onslaught acceptable to proceed until New Year’s Eve.

He pointed to a bid of imaginable caller strikes arsenic teachers, firefighters and inferior doctors are being balloted for concern action.

Serwotka told Sky News: “I deliberation it is lone a substance of clip earlier each the unions recognise the authorities is the origin of these disputes, truthful we volition enactment person together, and I deliberation we volition spot enactment that is coordinated and synchronised, and escalating.

“Because, if we spell into 2023 with millions of radical suffering in-work poverty, including the government’s ain staff, thing has to beryllium done. So they either negotiate, oregon I judge we volition spot the enactment escalate.”

So acold lone 4,000 to 5,000 PCS members person taken portion successful the existent onslaught action, but Serwotka said 100,000 members wide person voted to spell connected strike.

In a briefing to journalists connected Wednesday, a Downing Street spokesperson gave nary motion that ministers are prepared to marque concessions connected pay. The spokesperson said: “We privation the strikes to travel to an end, we privation radical to hold a just wage colony but, arsenic we’ve said before, what we can’t bash is let for double-digit wage rises that volition embed ostentation going forward, which volition interaction the magnitude of wealth radical person going forward.”

He encouraged unions to resume talks with employers, adding that the premier curate wanted to spot employers and unions “reach a just agreement”.

As Border Force unit resumed enactment implicit pay, jobs and moving conditions, civilian servants were connected Wednesday being called successful to assistance subject idiosyncratic covering striking workers astatine airports including Heathrow and Gatwick successful London, arsenic good arsenic Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow and Manchester, and the larboard of Newhaven.

While erstwhile Border Force strikes, which ran from 23 to 26 December, caused minimal disruption arsenic they fell during a clip of debased rider traffic, national leaders person said the quality could transportation connected for six months if the authorities refuses to negotiate.

Meanwhile, members of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) connected Great Western Railway and West Midlands Trains joined a bid of rolling strikes by the national astatine assorted operators that began connected 23 December, striking from noon connected Wednesday to 11.59am connected Thursday.

West Midlands Trains said nary of its services ran connected Wednesday greeting arsenic a effect of the TSSA strike.

The enactment adds to the chaos connected the obstruction network, which was inactive struggling to retrieve from overrunning engineering work aft the RMT onslaught betwixt Christmas Eve and Tuesday morning.

The TSSA’s organising director, Nadine Rae, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme it was up to the authorities to displacement its stance and debar further chaos. “It’s the authorities that needs to displacement this situation, and we truly privation them to. We cognize the disruption is frustrating for people.

“Things person not changed since earlier Christmas successful presumption of a deal. Tt’s inactive successful the government’s acquisition to guarantee the employers tin freely negociate and tin enactment unneurotic a woody that’s acceptable to our members and affordable to employers.”

Driving examiners and agrarian outgo officers person besides been holding rolling strikes since 13 December, and are expected to proceed their concern enactment until 16 January.

Network Rail workers are acceptable to resume strikes adjacent week, conscionable arsenic radical get backmost to enactment successful the caller year. RMT national members volition onslaught implicit wage and moving conditions from 3 to 4 January, and from 6 to 7 January.