London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Feb 18, 2026

Who is still striking and which disputes are resolved?

Who is still striking and which disputes are resolved?

Industrial action has been taking place across the country for months, as various sectors have been at loggerheads with their employers over pay and conditions.

But where have we got to in the different disputes? And are more strike dates upcoming?

Take a look at our guide below:

Junior doctors

Status of the dispute: Unresolved

Future strike dates: To be confirmed


Junior doctors have held two rounds of strike action in their ongoing dispute over pay and conditions, with up to 47,000 members taking industrial action.

The group of staff - which includes any qualified hospital doctor below consultant level - says their wages have fallen 26% in the last 15 years, with newly qualified medics making less than a barista in a coffee shop.

Their union, the British Medical Association (BMA), is demanding a 35% rise to restore their pay to 2008/09 levels and take into account record high inflation.

Health secretary Steve Barclay has accused junior doctors of taking a "militant stance", and called their pay demands "unreasonable".

The government has said it is willing to talk to the BMA about a resolution but only if they call off strikes - a measure the union is unwilling to accept.

More strikes are expected, though dates have yet to be confirmed.

Other NHS staff

Status of the dispute: Partially resolved

Future strike dates: To be confirmed

For other staff in the NHS, including nurses and ambulance workers, the picture is a bit more mixed.

Back in March, the Royal College of Nursing, GMB and Unison reached an agreement with the government over a pay offer, which would see a one-off payment to staff for last year and a 5% pay increase for 2023/24.

Unite said the offer wasn't good enough, but joined the other three unions in putting it to their members.

And while GMB and Unison accepted the deal, RCN and Unite members rejected the offer.

The deal has now been accepted by the NHS staff council, where all the unions gather, and will be implemented by the government.

But Unite said the decision "does not override the members' vote", meaning it could stage further walk-outs. and the RCN is planning to re-ballot their members and carry out further strikes.

No dates have been set, but RCN boss Pat Cullen told Sky News the industrial action could go on "up until Christmas", demanding the health secretary gets back round the table to negotiate.

Mr Barclay said the fact the council has accepted the deal shows it is "fair and reasonable", and called on the other unions to bring the walk-outs to an end.

Teachers

Status of the dispute: Unresolved

Future strike dates: Autumn term


The position of teachers and school leaders appears to be more aligned, after initial splits across the profession.

Earlier this year, only the National Education Union (NEU) reached the threshold to carry out strike action over working conditions and pay, but it still saw 200,000 teachers stage walk-outs - with almost 45% of state schools being impacted.

After holding negotiations with the government, the NEU put an offer to its members of a £1,000 payment for the current school year plus an average 4.5% rise next year.

But members overwhelmingly rejected it, with 98% of those who voted going against the offer, saying between 42% and 58% of schools would have to make cuts to afford it.

Now, the Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) and NASUWT will re-ballot their members, along with the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), which is asking its members whether they want to strike for the first time in its history.

The bosses of the four unions vowed coordinated action if they got the go ahead.

A Department for Education spokesperson said the plan was "unreasonable and disproportionate, especially given the impact the pandemic has already had on [children's] learning".

Strike dates have yet to be confirmed as the ballots are taking place over the summer term, but they are expected to take place come autumn.

University staff

Status of the dispute: Ongoing

Future strike dates: Ongoing marking boycott

More than 70,000 members of the University and College Union (UCU) staged strikes throughout February and March over pay, pensions and working conditions.

A child holds a placard alongside UCU lecturers on the picket line outside the University of Birmingham.


Staff wanted a higher pay offer than the 4% to 5% put on the table, as well as a reversal of the cuts to pensions that will see the average member lose 35% of their guaranteed future retirement income, according to the union.

But so far, their employers haven't budged.

On 20 April, staff decided to use a new tactic - boycotting marking and assessments until a better offer is made - and this action is ongoing.

Train drivers


Status of the dispute: Partially resolved

Future strike dates: 12, 13, 31 May and 3 June

The longest running of the disputes with government over pay and conditions falls to the railways - though with a mixture of staff and unions, some disputes have been settled while others roll on.

Signal workers and maintenance staff represented by the RMT voted in favour of an agreement with Network Rail in March for a 5% pay rise for last year and a 4% pay rise for next, backdated by three months.

However, train drivers represented by the Aslef union and other rail staff workers represented by the RMT have refused offers on the table from the Rail Delivery Group - representing the 14 train companies involved - as they would have to call off strike action before negotiations for the current year could take place.

Both unions have now confirmed fresh strike dates, clashing with the FA Cup final and the Eurovision Song Contest, and say they will carrying on their walk-outs until the pay offers reflect inflation and the rising cost of living.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper called the decision "deeply disappointing", especially in light of the song contest being held in Liverpool due to the war in Ukraine, accusing the unions of "targeting" those attending.

Civil servants


Status of the dispute: Unresolved

Future strike dates: 2, 3, 5, 6 and 10 May, and 7 June

The civil service covers a huge range of staff, from cleaners at departmental buildings through top officials in the Cabinet Office.

But a large number of them are unhappy about their pay, and have been staging strikes for months, from passport offices in Glasgow to border posts in Dover.

Whitehall has been told it can offer staff a 4.5% raise - with scope for an extra 0.5% "targeted at lower pay bands" if they deemed it necessary.

But unions criticised the lack of a one-off payment - as offered to those working in health and education - and said the offer was made in the absence of substantial talks.

Members of the Public and Commercial Services union have planned walk-outs until their ballot runs out at midnight on 6 May, with staff striking in passport offices, at the Department of Work and Pensions and within the Care Quality Commission.

But they are hoping to get approval from members for further industrial action, which could see the Border Force, DVLA are other civil service staff strike again.

The Prospect union, which represents "specialist, technical, professional, managerial and scientific staff in departments including the Met Office, the Health and Safety Executive and Natural England, are staging further walk-outs in May and June.

And the FDA union has decided to ballot its members to go on strike, with plans for a single national day of action.

Royal Mail


Status of the dispute: Partially resolved

Future strike dates: Uncertain


The Communication Workers Union had been locked in a dispute with Royal Mail since last year, with members staging 18 days of strikes in the second half of 2022 over pay, jobs and conditions - hitting Christmas deliveries in particular.

Members were fighting proposed modernisation plans they claimed would "spell the end" of Royal Mail and wanted an improved pay deal on the "best and final" 9% offer they rejected last year.

Members of the Communication Workers Union hold a rally in Parliament Square as Royal Mail workers mark another strike in the increasingly bitter dispute over jobs, pay and conditions.


The CWU secured a fresh mandate for more strikes but, after bringing in the conciliation service Acas and former TUC general secretary Sir Brendan Barber, the two sides reached an agreement in principle in April.

The executive of the union is now sharing the offer with its representatives before it is offered to members for a vote - so while the strikes are off for now, it may depend on the response of Royal Mail workers.

Firefighters


Status of the dispute: Resolved

Future strike dates: None


Back in January, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) voted overwhelmingly for strike action, saying they had experienced more than a decade of real-terms pay cuts, and that the 2% pay rise on offer was not enough.

Firefighters threatened to strike over their pay, but a settlement was reached.


Had the strike gone ahead, it would have been the service's first national walk-out in 20 years.

But the offer jumped to 12% in March, and FBU members voted in favour of the deal, meaning the strike never went ahead.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Reform UK Appoints Former Conservative Minister Robert Jenrick as Finance Chief
UK Unemployment Rises to Highest in Nearly Five Years as Labour Market Weakens
European Commission Plans Purchase Incentives Limited to Vehicles Manufactured Largely in the EU
French District of Pas-de-Calais Introduces Immediate License Suspension for Drivers Using Mobile Phones
Volkswagen Targets €60 Billion in Cost Reductions as Sales Decline and Global Pressures Intensify
Nigel Farage Names Reform UK Frontbench Team and Signals Zero Tolerance for Internal Dissent
Qualcomm to Withdraw UK Lawsuit Over Smartphone Chip Royalty Dispute
Major UK Banks Explore Domestic Card Network to Rival Visa and Mastercard
Cold Health Alert Issued Across UK as Temperatures Drop Sharply
Nine-Year-Old Becomes First Child in UK to Undergo Groundbreaking Leg-Lengthening Surgery
UK Workers Face Stagnant Incomes and a Softening Labour Market as Unemployment Climbs
UK Passport Rules Tightened for British Dual Nationals Under New Travel Guidance
California Deepens Global Climate Alliance with New UK Pact and Major Clean-Tech Investment Drive
UK Supreme Court Tightens Rules on Use of ‘Milk’ and ‘Cheese’ Labels for Plant-Based Products
University of Kentucky Postpones Feb. 19 Law Enforcement Training Exercise in Lexington
‘The only thing illegal is Keir Starmer handing these islands to a country like Mauritius!’
JD Vance says Germany is “killing itself” by taking in millions of fake asylum seekers from culturally incompatible nations.
UK Markets Signal Opportunity as Starmer Confronts Intensifying Political Pressure
Trump Criticises Newsom’s UK Climate Pact, Defends Federal Authority Over Foreign Engagements
UK’s Top Prosecutor Says ‘No One Is Above the Law’ as Police Review Claims Against Ex-Prince Andrew
Businessman Adam Brooks weighs in on the reports that the US is set to help Hamit Coskun flee the UK, over free speech concerns
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi Releases 3.5 Million Pages of Jeffrey Epstein Case Files
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio Comment on European allies report blaming Russia for killing late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny using toxin from poison dart frogs
Eighty-Year-Old Lottery Winner Sentenced to 16.5 Years for Drug Trafficking
UK Quran Burner May Receive Asylum in the US Amid Legal Challenges
Rubio Calls for Sweeping U.N. Reform, Saying It Has Failed to End Wars in Gaza and Ukraine
10,000 Condoms Distributed at Winter Olympics 2026 Athlete Village Depleted Within 72 Hours
Poland's President Advocates for Evaluating Independent Nuclear Weapons Development
Prince William Meets Saudi Crown Prince as Epstein-Andrew Fallout Casts Shadow
Starmer Calls for Renewed ‘Hard Power’ Investment at European Security Summit
UK Police Establish National Taskforce to Handle Domestic Epstein-Linked Allegations
UK Court Rules Ban on Palestine Action Unlawful in Major Free Speech Test
UK Faces Prospect of Net Migration Turning Negative as Economic Impact Looms
Mayor of Serdobsk in Russia’s Penza Region Resigns After Housing Certificates Granted to Migrant Family Trigger Public Outcry
Pentagon Reviews Anthropic Partnership After Claude AI Reportedly Used in Operation Targeting Nicolás Maduro
President Donald Trump and Hip-Hop’s Political Realignment: Pardons, Public Endorsements, and the Struggle Over Cultural Influence
China’s EV Makers Face Mandatory Return to Physical Buttons and Door Handles in Driver-Distraction Safety Overhaul
Goldman Sachs and DP World Executive Resignations: Elite-Reputation Risk and Corporate Governance Fallout From the Epstein Disclosures
‘Amelia’: The UK Government’s Anti-Extremism Game Villain Who Became a Protest Symbol
Peter Mandelson Asked to Testify Before US Congress Over Jeffrey Epstein Links
Walmart's Earnings and UK Economic Data Highlight Upcoming Financial Trends
UK Green Party Considering Proposal to Legalize Heroin for an Inclusive Society
SpaceX's New Vision: Lunar City Takes Precedence Over Mars Colonization
OpenAI and DeepCent Superintelligence Race: Artificial General Intelligence and AI Agents as a National Security Arms Race
Document Suggests Prince Andrew Shared UK Briefing on Afghan Investment Opportunities with Jeffrey Epstein
We will protect them from the digital Wild West.’ Another country will ban social media for under-16s
McDonald's Shortens Breakfast Hours in Australia Due to Egg Shortage
Heineken announces cut of 6,000 jobs due to declining beer demand
Beijing Brands UK Hong Kong Visa Expansion ‘Despicable and Reprehensible’ After Jimmy Lai Sentencing
Tesco Chief Warns UK Is ‘Sleepwalking’ Toward a Joblessness Crisis
×