Britain’s summer had already been punctuated by scenes of travel chaos as holidaymakers were forced to sleep on airport floors and motorways became jam-packed with cars in sweltering heat. Then came the train strikes.

Unions have ramped up their protests with three consecutive days of rail strikes in August.

The UK is already suffering from double-digit inflation, and unions argue that their members should not have to stomach real-terms pay cuts. They are also wary of plans to reform services and working patterns to adapt to changes in travel habits following the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Relations between bosses and unions have soured, with Conservative ministers also weighing in. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps accused unions in June of pursuing “some sort of class war,” and at the end of July said they were exploiting “archaic rules from 1919” to discourage staff from working on Sundays. Labor groups have repeatedly accused the government and train companies of lying about stalled negotiations and claims of informal strikes.

The threat of walkouts also lingers over other parts of the UK transport sector, ranging from airlines to container ship ports. Train drivers from the Aslef union withdrew their labor from nine operating companies on Aug. 13, with more to come. 

While passengers will be hoping for strikes to be called off amid a breakthrough in talks, here is an up-to-date list of industrial action currently taking place or expected to take place this month:

Thursday Aug. 18

  • UK national one-day rail strikes by the RMT and the TSSA (affecting Network Rail and 14 train companies)

Friday Aug. 19

  • London Underground workers in the RMT hold one-day strike
  • Bus drivers in Unite union begin two-day strike in west and southwest London
  • EasyJet: Spanish pilots in SEPLA union to strike through Sunday

Saturday Aug. 20

  • UK national one-day rail strikes by the RMT and the TSSA (affecting Network Rail and 14 train companies)
  • Second day of bus drivers’ strike in west and southwest London

Saturday Aug. 27

  • EasyJet: Spanish pilots in SEPLA union strike through Monday

The train strikes could get even worse, with staff at South Western Railway being balloted by the TSSA.

Meanwhile, British Airways pilots are also threatening to strike, with negotiations ongoing, despite a bumper 13% deal agreed with check-in staff. 

Security staff at Leeds Bradford Airport have voted to strike at the end of August. Ryanair Holdings Plc’s Spanish cabin crew have begun four-day strikes planned for each week for the next five months.

Furthermore, Royal Mail staff have voted to back a strike on Aug. 26 and 31, and Sept. 8 and 9, and could announce more dates subsequently. They will be joined on Aug. 26 by Post Office workers, some of whom will also strike on Aug. 27 and 30. 

Nurses will vote, from Sept. 15 to Oct. 13, on whether to strike for the first time ever in England and Wales.

Britain’s criminal trial lawyers are poised to escalate strike action in their dispute with the government over fees. Since July the barristers -- as they’re known in the UK -- have walked out of courts in England and Wales, disrupting and delaying criminal trials on 22 separate days.

On Aug. 22 the Criminal Bar Association will publish the result of a further ballot of its members for an all-out strike that would start on Sept. 5.

At Britain’s largest container ship port, Felixstowe, dockers in Unite the Union will strike between Aug. 21 and 29 in another blow to the country’s supply chains. Workers at Liverpool’s port have also voted to strike though no dates have been set.