NEARLY four million working days have been lost to industrial action in the past year — more than at any point since the 1980s — new research has revealed.

Many of the strikes, which have wiped out about 3.9 million working days, have been fuelled by take-home pay falls of more than 9 per cent in the highly unionised public sector, according to the Resolution Foundation.

Industries including health, education, the postal services and railways have been responsible for 96 per cent of all days lost to strike action since 2021, the independent think tank added.

The organisation’s latest report warned that 40-year high inflation meant average weekly wages for all workers was 4.1 per cent lower in real terms in the three months to May than it was in the same quarter two years ago. 

But, over the same period, take-home pay for public-sector workers plunged by 9.2 per cent and for those in health and social care it plummeted by a whopping 9.8 per cent, the study shows.

It also noted that walkouts are not just about pay but also deteriorating working conditions, exhaustion and stress.

The foundation’s Nye Cominetti said: “Recent strikes reflect the fact that real terms public-sector pay has fallen severely in the past few years, as well as the stress and difficult workplace conditions frequently reported by workers in these sectors.

“However, the inflation-driven pay squeeze should also be understood as part of a broader pattern of poor pay growth across both the public and private sectors and falling pay satisfaction among public-sector workers.

“The government needs to balance fiscal caution with the need to provide a level of pay for public-sector workers that reflects the very real difficulties they face.”

He also urged a “renewed focus on improving pay and working conditions for workers in essential sectors like social care, that are largely not unionised, but which are still experiencing the effects of job stresses and pay squeezes.”

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak told the Morning Star that working people are “at breaking point” following more than a decade of Tory-imposed austerity.

“People need money in their pockets now,” he said. “Ministers must commit to an ongoing boost to public-sector pay, raise the minimum wage to £15 per hour and come up with a credible plan for boosting jobs and living standards.”