Who is on strike TODAY? Ambulance crews, health and social care workers, DWP and airport staff continue their prolonged strikes on February 23.
- Health staff and paramedics in Northern Ireland to leave today
- Scotland’s airports will also be affected by the strike
Civil servants and ambulance drivers will rise today for better wages and working conditions as the public sector strikes that have dominated 2023 so far continue.
Around 4,000 social workers and healthcare professionals in Northern Ireland are expected to join the demonstrations today due to the effects of inflation on wages.
The Unite union, which represents the striking workers, has defended the strike citing staff shortages, increased burnout and public safety risks caused by poor working conditions, which have contributed to the service NI’s health department is under considerable pressure.
Elsewhere, civil servants in Swansea and Liverpool will stop work today and airport workers in Scotland will also be on strike over pay.
Here’s who’s on strike and why.
Several public sector workers will leave today
Workers with Unite union flags picket outside the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast in January
Health workers and ambulance staff – Northern Ireland
Ambulance workers in Northern Ireland are on strike today over wage grievances and fear the service they provide will be affected.
It is the second round of 48-hour strikes carried out by the service, however, the paramedics participating in the strike will be on standby to answer critical calls.
Unite’s Northern Ireland regional health director Kevin McAdam said: “No one should be in any doubt about the determination of our members to defend their standards of living amid an unprecedented cost of living crisis.”
Health workers are also leaving over concerns about low pay and poor working conditions, something Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said was making the job “impossible.”
She said: “With chronically low wages making it impossible to recruit and retain essential health workers, the health service in Northern Ireland is facing an existential crisis.”
Thousands of Unite union members are marching in Northern Ireland today (pictured striking workers in Worcestershire)
A general view of the Highlands and Islands Limited Stornoway Airport in Lewis
Airports – Scotland
Several areas of northern Scotland will be cut off today due to a strike by staff at Highlands and Islands Airports, a company that operates 11 airports and is owned by the Scottish government.
The strike includes emergency rescue personnel, baggage handlers, ground and security personnel and is in response to a rejected 5% wage increase.
According to Unite, the action will halt mail delivery and may prevent offshore workers from returning home, but has left them no choice as the “Scottish government have not met with them”.
Shauna Wright, Unite’s Industrial Officer, said: ‘Unite has no choice but to intensify our industrial action across the HIAL Group.
‘Our members keep airports running in rural and isolated communities. They help ensure that businesses can trade, workers can travel, and visitors can come to the islands.
“The way they have been treated by the Scottish Government and HIAL management is deeply disappointing.”
Civil Service – United Kingdom
A multitude of public servants who are part of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) will retire today.
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) employees at various workplaces are taking their 13th day of labor action over wages, pensions, job security and redundant terms.
Affected centers include Toxteth Jobcentre, Liverpool Duke Street Jobcentre, Liverpool City Jobcentre and Liverpool Innovation Park Jobcentre.
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) staff in Swansea and Birmingham are also organizing a walkout.
After taking five days of labor action last month, they are on strike for six days until Saturday.
