The Cascading Strike Wave in the UK

Despite the efforts of the capitalist media to smother talk of the cost of living crisis with endless coverage of the queen’s death and the regime unions using the event as a convenient excuse to cancel in progress and upcoming strike actions to “mourn”, there has been another resurgence in wildcat strikes across different sectors and 4 different unions, the Communication Workers Union (CWU), National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), Unite and the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF), calling for a concurrent “megastrike” on 1 October, mainly involving transport and mail workers.

On the 8th of September almost immediately after the queen’s death the CWU seized upon the opportunity by canceling a barely in progress 48-hour strike of 115,000 postal workers while the RMT canceled called off an upcoming 2 day strike scheduled for 15 and 17 September. There was also cancellation of strikes by ASLEF, the TSSA (Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association), and the Criminal Bar Association while the Trades Union Congress (TUC) postponed its upcoming congress.

The stoppage of strike action has already allowed for a derisory, below-inflation pay deal of 9.25% to be slipped through with low levels of member support, with the ‘Unite’ union even going as far as to present the deal as being 10% with some creative accounting methods over how back pay will be calculated.

There have also been more open clashes between the interests of workers and regime unions: a wildcat strike by oil and gas rig workers across 17 different locations, all coordinated through social media.

The 24-hour strike on 14 September has been condemned by all the main trade unions meant to be representing the workers involved, who released a joint statement reading: “Our concern is that unofficial action risks everything [that could be achieved through the ESA.] Trying a smash and grab job for short term gains we fear will only put the whole thing at risk.”

Also on 23 September there was a simultaneous strike of delivery workers in Luton, employed by Just Eat, Uber Eats and Deliveroo, apparently organised through a large WhatsApp group chat.