Mass strike action on 1 February will disrupt daily life – No 10

Mass strikes on Wednesday will cause “significant disruption”, Downing Street said.

Teachers, university staff, civil servants, train and bus drivers, they all take action.

Many parents face uncertainty as schools may not know if they have enough staff to stay open until Wednesday morning.

Talks between teachers’ unions and the Department of Education (DfE) ended on Monday with no progress.

The National Education Union (NEU) said Education Secretary Gillian Keegan “missed an opportunity” to avoid Wednesday’s strike.

The DfE has offered most teachers a 5% pay rise for the current school year, but the NEU wants a fully funded, above-inflation raise for teachers.

Around 23,000 schools are expected to be affected by the first of their seven planned teacher strikes in England and Wales.

Individual teachers don’t have to say if they will go on strike, so school leaders may not know which gaps they need to fill until Wednesday morning.

Some schools have already announced their closure, while others are still deciding – meaning many parents are still waiting to hear if they need to make childcare arrangements.

Schools in England have been asked to remain open as a priority for vulnerable pupils and students taking exams or mock exams on Wednesday.

But many students are likely to face interruptions — for example, when receiving online learning to take home.

Schools in Scotland continue to be hit by strikes, while most teachers in Northern Ireland will also go on strike for half a day in February.

Lecturers, librarians and other university workers affiliated with the UCU union are also taking action on February 1.

The same applies to Aslef train drivers affecting services in England, Scotland and Wales.

Around 100,000 civil servants will also go on strike, as will some bus drivers in London.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “We know there will be significant disruption given the scale of the strike action taking place tomorrow and that will be very difficult for the public trying to go about their daily lives.

“We’re open that this will disrupt people’s lives, and so we think negotiation, rather than picketing, is the right approach.”

The spokesman also said the announcement of a February 10 ambulance workers’ strike was “deeply concerning”.

“We are introducing significant mitigation measures that previously helped reduce some of the impact of these strikes,” he said, urging unions to reconsider.

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