Strike action is planned across the UK for the month of June, including Border Force staff at London Heathrow Airport walking out to protest changes in shift patterns.
The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union argues that the new rotas would force 250 members out of their jobs, while the Home Office asserts that these changes will improve service and align working arrangements with other ports.
Junior doctors in England and Northern Ireland will also strike due to unsuccessful pay negotiations, citing disparities in pay and conditions compared to other regions.
Following a recent Aslef train strike, there has been a pause in strike action. But more could be announced as the union continues to protest a prolonged pay freeze and lack of government negotiations.
When are the Border Force strikes?
Border Force staff at Heathrow Airport (LHR) in London plan to strike from 31 May to 2 June, protesting a new working rota which they say could lead to 250 job cuts.
Should the strike plan move forward, significant disruptions are likely for international travel to and from LHR from 31 May 31 to 2 June, with reduced severity from 3 June to 23 June as employees will refuse to work overtime.
Border Force staff at terminals 2, 3, 4, and 5 will participate in the work stoppage.
This new strike follows a four-day walkout from 29 April to 3 May 3 and a planned strike from 11-14 April that was suspended at the last minute.
PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said: “We are keen to resolve this dispute but the Home Office must first put something on the table for our members to consider.
“The Home Office has said it is ‘open to discuss’ a resolution but it only responded to our request for a meeting after we threatened further action.
“Until it comes back with changes to the roster that will benefit our members then the dispute will continue.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The changes we are implementing will bring the working arrangements for Border Force Heathrow staff in line with the way staff work at other ports, provide them with more certainty on working patterns, and improve the service to the travelling public. We have robust plans in place to minimise disruption where possible, but we urge passengers to check the latest advice from operators before they travel.”
When are the junior doctor strikes?
Junior doctors in England and Northern Ireland have announced further strike action after pay talks with the devolved Department of Health broke down.
In Northern Ireland, the 48-hour strike will begin at 7am on Thursday 6 June until 7am on Saturday 8 June.
Meanwhile in England, Junior doctors are to stage a five-day strike in the lead-up to the election in their long-running pay dispute with the government. British Medical Association (BMA) members will walk out from 7am on 27 June.
The union said it was taking action as there had been no credible new offer after fresh talks started in mid-May.
Junior doctors are qualified doctors who are still involved in clinical training, according to the British Medical Association (BMA). Patients may be treated by a junior doctor in a hospital or general practice setting.
The current base starting salary for a junior doctor is about £26,000, although this does not take into account weekend or out-of-hours work payments.
In other parts of the UK, the Welsh government is also in talks over pay with junior doctor representatives, while junior doctors in Scotland voted to accept a pay offer from the Scottish government last August after they got a 12 per cent pay increase from the Scottish National Party.
The Northern Ireland Junior Doctors Committee (NIJDC) says there has been no progress on its key demands, despite “some progress on non-pay issues” since a meeting with Northern Ireland’s health minister Robin Swann following the first round of industrial action in March.
NIJDC chair Fiona Griffin said: “Doctors can see their colleagues elsewhere in the UK and in other jurisdictions getting better pay and conditions for less pressurised workloads.
This, along with years of below inflation or non-existent pay uplifts, the latest of which for the 2023/24 financial year has still yet to be paid, further adds to the reality that the key role junior doctors have in the health service is simply not valued.”
The Department of Health has said it “stands ready” to continue discussions with the Junior Doctors Committee and does not accept that talks have “collapsed.”
Will there be more train strikes?
The last Aslef train strike took place from 7-9 May.
Following the Aslef strikes in May, no further strikes have been announced by rail unions.
However, Aslef members voted to continue striking until at least the summer, while last week, Aslef chief Mick Whelan confirmed that the Government hasn’t taken to the negotiating table since 2022.
Mr Whelan said: “We have given the government every opportunity to come to the table but it has now been a year since we had any contact from the Department for Transport. It’s clear they do not want to resolve this dispute.
“Many of our members have now not had a single penny increase to their pay in half a decade, during which inflation soared and with it the cost of living.”
