It looks very much as though, when the final figures are in, the number of days lost to strikes in 2007 may have exceeded one million. If so, this will be the first time since 1996 – which you may recall as the last year before the election of a Labour government.
The latest official figures (subscription required) show that there were 948,000 strike days in the ten months to the end of October 2007, with around one-third of that number taking place in October itself. November's figures are due out on 16 January.
At the weekend, prime minister Gordon Brown promised below-inflation pay rises for MPs and ministers this year, and suggested strongly that the rest of the public sector should follow suit. Or at least that is how I read this…
"Government ministers must have a rate of pay increase that is below two percent - 1.9 percent. At the same time, my recommendation is that this is what goes for MPs. I think it's very important that we send a message to nurses, police and all those in the public sector, it is very important in this year that we break the back of inflation."… so strike days in 2008 could be even higher – not least because the impact of a million civil servants halting work for one day has so much larger an impact on the numbers than 1,000 factory workers standing on a picket line for a month.
With many people returning to work this morning for the first time in 2008, here is a public service announcement on the current state of play on industrial action:
• 70,000 tax officials at HM Revenue and Customs are now balloting for a one-day strike on 31 January, to be followed by an overtime ban. The PCS union says it is fighting plans to " close up to 250 offices and to slash 25,000 jobs by 2011".
• The National Union of Teachers is warning that it will ballot its members for a strike if ministers impose a 2% pay rise later this month.
• 375 bus drivers have walked out for 24 hours in Wiltshire and Dorset over working time issues, according to the RMT union.
• Cabin crews at Virgin Airlines have voted to walk out later this week – with Virgin boss Richard Branson's advice that anyone wanting more money "should consider working elsewhere" apparently doing little to mollify them.
• Strike action at the BBC has been put off for a fortnight while negotiations resume with the National Union of Journalsts, Bectu and Unite. The threatened notice of dismissals to some staff, which may prove the trigger point for a walkout, has been postponed to 23 January.
• Strike action at seven BAA-owned airports over changes to the company's final salary pension scheme has been called off after a deal with the PCS.
All things considered, you might call that a bit of a mixed start to the year.
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