Workers for 124 government departments and agencies will walk out on 1 February, affecting a range of public services including driving tests, passport applications and welfare payments, the Public and Commercial Services union said in a statement.
Sunak’s administration is already battling to contain widespread industrial action across sectors including public transport, the National Health Service and the Border Force, as unions protest against real-term cuts in pay. The government has so far failed to stem the workforce unrest, despite a series of meetings between ministers and unions on Monday.
Ambulance workers held their second strike day of the winter on Wednesday, as the NHS struggles to deal with surging demand and massive backlogs. In the Commons, Sunak described that walkout as “terrifying” because it left people not knowing whether they could get emergency treatment. The National Health Service has reached breaking point this winter, with excess deaths in England and Wales jumping 20% above average at the end of 2022, according to figures on Tuesday from the Office for National Statistics. And even before the strikes, the ambulance service was failing to meet targets, with many patients waiting several hours for an ambulance.
'Bloody communists'
The cadres have betrayed our people, again and again and again and again and again….