TODAY'S STRIKES EXPLAINED - WHO IS TAKING ACTION TODAY AND HOW IT WILL AFFECT YOUR AREA
Today is the biggest day of industrial action in more than a decade, with up to half a million people set to refuse to work across the country. Teachers, university lecturers, train drivers, civil servants, bus drivers and security guards in seven trade unions are all on strike, mostly over a lack of pay rises, in a mass walkout that Downing Street has conceded will cause significant disruption.
The wages of many occupations have failed to keep up with inflation over the last decade - although MPs' salaries have increased at a slightly faster rate - and with the rate of inflation now hitting 10 percent, many Brits are feeling the pinch and demanding better treatment.
We've gathered all the information you need to know on today's strikes, including who is on strike, where and how it will affect you. Read on to find out who is striking today, and when the next strikes are scheduled for.
LIVE BLOG: UK to grind to a halt in biggest strike action for decades Link
Teachers
More than 23,000 schools are expected to be affected across England and Wales as teachers who are members of the National Education Union (NEU) go on strike. The Department of Education has offered a five percent pay rise to most teachers for this academic year - but the NEU is demanding it goes above inflation. Support staff in Wales who are members of the NEU will also be involved in the strikes.
In a separate dispute, teacher members of the NEU in England sixth form colleges will join the walkouts, while those in the NAHT Cymru union will hold industrial action short of a strike. This includes abstaining from arranging cover for those taking part in industrial action.
Scotland is not free from strikes, however, as teacher members of its biggest teaching union, the EIS union, will take action in Clackmannanshire and Aberdeen as part of an ongoing dispute over pay.
The impact of these strikes will differ from school to school - with some closing entirely, others prioritising children who would benefit most from in-person teaching, and others having little impact. The NEU is required by law to provide schools with the number of members that it is calling on to take strike action in each workplace but the union does not have to provide the names of members.
Civil Service
In another long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions, up to 100,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) will strike today.
The members of the civil service taking part in the strike work for various government departments, as well as the Border Force, museums and other government agencies.
The PCS is trying to achieve a pay rise of 10 percent after the government offer of two percent - which the union pointed out was significantly lower than the rate of inflation. PCS has also raised the alarm over the potential for huge job losses and cuts to redundancy terms for those affected.
Trains, tubes and buses
The long-running dispute over pay and conditions for train drivers in Aslef and the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) is also set to continue.
A recent offer of a four percent pay rise for last year and another four percent this year was rejected by the union for conditions that were attached - which included compulsory Sunday working. Aslef have argued that more train drivers should be employed to cover shifts, but claim that rail operators prefer to the cheaper option of pay staff overtime to work on Sundays.
Train services will be significantly affected today, and again on Friday - with some areas likely to have no trains at all. Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, and Great Northern are among the services with no trains operating today.
Meanwhile, 1,900 members of Unite who are employed by bus drivers in Abellio in London will be walking out on February 1, 2 and 3, which the union says it decided after the rejection of two pay offers.
General secretary Sharon Graham said: "Abellio is an incredibly wealthy company, whose success is based on the hard graft of its workers. It can fully afford to make a fair pay offer which meets our members' expectations, but it has failed to do so."
Bus services in the south and west of London will be affected by the industrial action.
READ MORE: Teachers on strike could still be paid as schools see mass walkouts
Universities
150 UK universities will be hit by strikes throughout February and March as up to 70,000 members of the University and College Union take action over pay, working conditions and pensions.
The Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA), representing 144 employers, said it has made a 'full and final pay offer' of between 8 percent and 5 percent - but the union branded this only a marginal improvement.
According to the employers, the offer prioritises the disproportionate effect of high inflation for the lower paid, with a minimum of 5 percent for other members of staff, which they described as the highest uplift in nearly 20 years. The intention is for between 3.2 percent and 2 percent to be paid from February 1, with the remaining amount from August, as is the usual timetable.
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Teachers
Teachers will also strike again on February 2, 3 and 6 in parts of Scotland, while all schools in Wales will be affected in the next walkout February 14.
Further strikes are currently planned for March 1 for the East Midlands, West Midlands, and the NEU's eastern region, and on March 2 for the south-east, south-west and London.
Another walkout will then hit on March 15 and 16, affecting all schools in England and Wales.
NHS
Nurses will go on strike on February 6 and 7, with ambulance crews in England and Wales joining them on the first date.
Ambulance strikes will also take place on Feb 20, March 6 and March 20.
Trains, tubes and buses
Further train strikes are planned for later this month, with the next hitting on Friday, February 3 when the following operators confirmed they will not be running services:
- Avanti West Coast
- Chiltern Railways
- CrossCountry
- East Midlands Railway
- Gatwick Express
- Great Northern
- Heathrow Express
- Island Line
- London Northwestern Railway
- Northern
- Southeastern
- Southern
- Thameslink
- TransPennine Express
- West Midlands Railway
The following operators will be running a reduced service:
- Greater Anglia & Stansted Express
- Great Western Railway
- LNER