Summer of discontent: Lost working days surge up to 78 per cent amid strikes
The number of working days lost has increased amid the summer of discontent, according to data published today.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that lost working days amounted to 70,500 and 87,6000 in June and July respectively – up 72 and 78 per cent on the 2019 monthly average of 19,500.
The majority of lost working days, the ONS added, was in the transport and storage industries.
Even though labour disputes spread across the country, London was one of the most hit areas, after Yorkshire and the Humber.
London reported 16,700 lost days in June, with numbers going slightly down to 14,200 a month later.
Commenting on the data, a spokesperson from rail union RMT said: “Strikes are always a last resort but when working people are faced with continuing pay freezes and threats to job security and working conditions, it is unsurprising that workers are using their industrial strength to win a square deal at work.”
The summer of discontent has seen thousands of workers – especially those in the railway sector – walkout as part of long-standing disputes over jobs, salaries and working conditions.
The wave of industrial action – which at time has brought the UK’s railway network to its knees – is not coming to an end anytime soon, as members of the transport unions RMT, TSSA and Aslef will walk out on Saturday.