Who’s on strike today and how will it affect you? Daily update for March 22
Ofsted workers, National Express drivers and university staff are all striking today.
More than 3,000 members of Unite, employed by the coach operator in the West Midlands, continue their walkout.
A limited service, mainly serving major hospitals, will run after drivers ‘rejected an improved offer of a 14.3% pay increase’.
The strike, which started to affect services from 10.30pm on Sunday, will hit about 93% of the bus network, the union has warned.
It comes after National Express did not allow members to vote on the offer during meetings at their depots.
Unite had already recommended members reject the deal because it has ‘more strings attached than a grand piano’. National Express’s scheduled white coaches should not be impacted.
More than 70,000 staff at 150 universities are also striking today.
This week’s strikes are going ahead despite hopes of a breakthrough following an offer from employers on pay, working conditions and pensions.
Members of the University and College Union (UCU) are being balloted again on the dispute, which could still spark chaos for the rest of the academic year.
Meanwhile, Ofsted members working in the Applications, Regulatory and Contact (ARC) team, and Inspection Support Centre (ISC), are taking to the picket lines over pay, pensions, job security and redundancy terms.
Action will delay responses to queries and complaints from the public, schools and other education providers.
It will also impact calls and inspection notices going out and limit the support available to inspectors.
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