Advertisement
Employment

March 15 strike: From tube drivers to teachers, who’s on strike on Wednesday? 

The London Underground, schools, hospitals, universities and government departments are all set to be hit by large-scale disruption due to the strikes

Wednesday 15 March is budget day, the day Rishi Sunak’s chancellor Jeremy Hunt announces how much money he will allot for government services and departments in the year ahead.

To protest low pay that is crippling the services they provide, and call for greater investment to save them from ruin, hundreds of thousands of people will walk out of their workplaces, again.

Union leaders have coordinated industrial action to cause maximum disruption as the rising cost of living has become a unifying force behind demands for higher pay.

Your support changes lives. Find out how you can help us help more people by signing up for a subscription

Unions including the National Education Union have organised a national march from London’s Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square, for what’s expected to be the biggest demonstration this year. 

New legislation brought in by the government that would restrict the right to strike by forcing some workers to maintain minimum service levels has only added fuel to the fire. 

Advertisement
Advertisement

Here’s why March 15 is set to cause widespread disruption across the country.

Who is going on strike on March 15?

Teachers with the NEU

Schools in England and Wales will see teachers walk out of classrooms on March 15 and 16, following rolling strikes affecting schools on different days. 

Called by the National Education Union, teachers at sixth-form colleges in England will also join the strike. 

More than half of schools in England closed or partially closed during the first national NEU strike on February 1. The NEU and other education unions are calling for a pay rise above inflation. 

Junior doctors

Junior doctors in England are set to stage a 72-hour strike from 7am on March 13 to 7am on March 15, the British Medical Association has announced. 

Junior doctors account for around 40 per cent of the medical workforce, the BBC reports, and will walk out of both routine and emergency care departments.

Advertisement

The 48,000 striking doctors are “demoralised, angry and no longer willing to work for wages that have seen a real-terms decline of over 26 per cent in the past 15 years”, said a BMA spokesperson.



Civil servants including Border Force officials

Around 133,000 civil servants in over 123 departments, including those working for the tax office, driving instructors, Border Force officials, and Department for Work and Pensions in roles such as Universal Credit handles have voted to strike. 

The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union has escalated strike action to put pressure on the government to increase pay of civil servants, with its members earning on average just £23,000 a year. 

“Unless ministers put more money on the table, our strikes will continue to escalate, beginning on March 15,” PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka said in a statement.

Tube drivers and workers with Aslef and the RMT

London Underground staff and tube drivers will bring the transport network to a standstill on Wednesday to protest job losses and changes to pensions and working agreements.

Aslef, which represents the majority of tube drivers, has called its members to walk out in a dispute over changes to working arrangements and pensions. London Underground staff with the RMT will also strike.

Advertisement

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “Tube workers provide an essential service to the capital, making sure the city can keep moving and work long hours in demanding roles. In return they deserve decent pensions, job security and good working conditions and the RMT will fight and tooth nail to make sure that’s what they get.”

A spokesperson for Transport for London (TfL) told the BBC: “We have not proposed changes to anyone’s pensions.”

University workers

More than 70,000 university staff including lecturers are being encouraged to strike on March 15, in addition to strikes on March 16, 17, and then again the following week from Monday 20 to Wednesday 22. 

They are calling for more pay from higher education institutions. The University and College Union remains in negotiations with employers having paused strike action for two-weeks to encourage positive discussion, resuming strike action after employer body UCEA instructed its member institutions to impose a pay award without agreement from the union. 

Here is the full list of national strikes taking place this March 2023. 

Advertisement

Change a vendor's life this Christmas

This Christmas, 3.8 million people across the UK will be facing extreme poverty. Thousands of those struggling will turn to selling the Big Issue as a vital source of income - they need your support to earn and lift themselves out of poverty.

Recommended for you

Read All
Unemployment has risen while pay growth slows as experts warn of ‘cooling’ jobs market
Stock photo of UK bank notes and coins
Employment

Unemployment has risen while pay growth slows as experts warn of ‘cooling’ jobs market

Millions of lost jobs or a four-day working week? The impact of AI on the job market is complicated
Artificial Intelligence

Millions of lost jobs or a four-day working week? The impact of AI on the job market is complicated

Disabled people losing jobs and 'falling out of work' due to months-long waits for DWP support
disabled person working
Disability rights

Disabled people losing jobs and 'falling out of work' due to months-long waits for DWP support

Pay boost for millions as Labour raises minimum wage to £12.21 an hour – but is it enough?
Minimum wage

Pay boost for millions as Labour raises minimum wage to £12.21 an hour – but is it enough?

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue
4.

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue