All strike dates for February 2024 with trains, buses and driving exams affected

Employees are walking out over pay, working conditions and job cuts.

February – and the remainder of January – will see fresh strike action across the country causing widespread disruption to services.

Rail workers plan to walk out over five days, starting tomorrow, with 17 train companies affected.

Abellio bus depot employees in Twickenham and Battersea have four days of industrial action planned, as do almost 2,000 driving test examiners in England, Scotland, and Wales.

Meanwhile, English National Opera staff plan to strike on Thursday, affecting the company’s opening night of The Handmaid’s Tale, and a dispute with refuse workers in Cardiff continues to impact services.

Here is a look at all January and February 2024 strike dates to be aware of, why employees are walking out and how it could impact you.

It’s worth noting that strike action can be called off at the last minute, subject to negotiation, so always check the latest information before arranging things like travel plans.

Train drivers

Train drivers who are members of Aslef Union are striking for five days from tomorrow until Monday, February 5 over a pay dispute.

They have also refused to work any non-contractual overtime from today until Tuesday, February 6.

Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said drivers need a pay increase to cope with the cost of living.

‘Many of our members have now not had a single penny increase to their pay in half a decade, during which inflation soared and with it the cost of living.

‘Train drivers didn’t even ask for an increase during the Covid-19 pandemic when they worked throughout as key workers, risking their lives to allow NHS and other workers to travel.’

A separate LNER strike called by Aslef and due to run between February 5 and 9 has been called off. 

We’ve listed the current planned strike dates and which rail operators are affected below.

Tuesday January 30
Southeastern
Southern/Gatwick Express
GTR Thameslink
South Western Railway
SWR Island Line

Wednesday January 31
Northern Trains
TransPennine Express

Friday February 2
C2C
Greater Anglia
LNER

Saturday February 3
Avanti West Coast
East Midlands Railway
West Midlands Trains

Monday February 5
Great Western Railway
CrossCountry
Chiltern

Bus depot workers

Bus control room staff in south London, who walked out on January 19 and 26 in a row over pay have another four days planned, February 2, 9, 16 and 23.

The strikes will disrupt at least 18 bus routes services that run from Abellio depots in Battersea and Twickenham.

These include the following bus numbers: 24, 27, 111, 156, 159, 267, 285, 322, 344, 345, 415, 490, 969, H20, H25, H26, R68, and R70.

Driving test examiners

Driving test examiners across the country are set to stage a walkout from February 9 to 11, affecting 270 test centres.

Members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union are striking in protest at ‘flawed’ plans demanding instructors deliver 150,000 more tests by the end of March.

The DVSA (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency) called the decision to strike ‘disappointing’.

Examiners have warned carrying out the extra tests could post ‘significant’ safety risks for both them and their clients.

Cardiff refuse workers

Strike action by Unite members working within Cardiff council’s refuse and recycling department has been going on since December 28. 

The walkout was extended by a further four weeks and will now continue until Thursday, February 22.

The strike extension was in response to Cardiff council’s failure to make any progress in relation to Unite’s concerns on a number of local issues. 

Unite says the most prominent of these is the ‘widespread bullying culture within the refuse and recycling department alongside the ingrained use of agency labour’.

‘Rather than seeking to resolve this strike, Cardiff council seem intent on worsening industrial relations,’ Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said.

English National Opera musicians and singers

Musicians and singers working for the English National Opera voted to strike on February 1 in protest at plans to cut jobs.

Members of the company’s orchestra, chorus and music staff are set to walk out on the opening night of its latest run of The Handmaid’s Tale at the London Coliseum.

The Musician Union and Equity said plans to cut 19 orchestra jobs and make other employees part-time would threaten musicians’ livelihoods.

If it goes ahead, it will be the first time Musicians Union members have taken full strike action in 44 years.

General secretary Naomi Pohl said the vote was ‘a sign of extremely difficult times for the orchestral sector and opera and ballet in particular’.

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