Who’s on strike today and how will it affect you? Daily update for December 22

Highway workers and driving examiners are on the strike calendar today (Picture: Metro.co.uk)

Another day, another round of strikes.

Ambulance workers took to the picket lines later in protest over pay and working conditions.

People were urged to avoid taking ‘risks’ and use ‘common sense’ to help minimise pressure on hospitals.

Today, driving examiners and highway workers are embarking on strike action.

Some driving tests might be affected – with people urged to check the Government’s website for more information.

The strike action is part of national industrial action by the  Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union over pay, pensions, jobs and redundancy terms.

Meanwhile, National Highways workers are taking further strike action – as part of widespread walk outs between December 16 and January 7.

There have been warnings over potential delays on the road as a result of the protests.

Driving examiners are calling for better working conditions (Picture: Shutterstock/mundissima)

Ambulance strikes yesterday led to the Army being called in to help ease pressure (Picture: PA)

This pocket of strike action affects London and the south east, and runs until Christmas Day.

Those responsible for programming electronic signs that provide information about speed limits and lane closures – who work closely with emergency services to monitor the roads – are among the striking staff.

However the industrial action does not impact those who work to repair road surfaces – such as gritting activity.

Duncan Smith, executive director of operations at Highways England, said: ‘We’ve reviewed the impact that the strikes may have and are confident our well-rehearsed resilience plans mean we can continue to manage and operate our network safely.  

‘Millions of people rely on our roads and there is a possibility that they may be busier than usual on strike days, particularly when they correspond with industrial action on other transport modes.

‘We’d urge drivers to take extra care during the cold weather and in the run up to Christmas when our network is always busier.’ 

Further strike action from rail, ambulance and bus staff are yet to come before the month is out.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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