What do the National Highways strikes actually mean for drivers?

M25 and M20 could be affected by latest industrial action ahead of Christmas getaway

National Highways workers belonging to the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS), Britain’s biggest civil service union, are the latest to go on strike this December, with staff based in London and south east England hitting the picket lines on Thursday.

The demonstrations will take place on a regional, rolling basis until 7 January and could ultimately see as many as 125 on-road traffic officers and operating centre operatives downing tools out of 1,500 frontline staff – accounting for 8 per cent, according to National Highways – which has moved to reassure the public it has “robust and well-rehearsed measures” in place to deal with any problems that might arise.

With staff based at depots in Godstone and Winchester walking out, the M25 is expected to be affected on Thursday, as well as the M20 heading towards Folkestone.

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

“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.”

Thursday’s strike runs until Christmas Day and follows similar industrial action undertaken in protest at wage stagnation by National Highways staff – who plan, design, build, operate and maintain UK roads – in Yorkshire and Humber and north west and north east England and will be followed by further regional walkouts over the new year and into early January 2023.

"Our members, who are affected by the cost of living crisis like everyone else, work hard every day keeping our roads safe,” said Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary.

“The government is putting travellers’ lives at risk by refusing to negotiate with us. Rishi Sunak could end this dispute today by putting some money on the table.

“We’re aware our action is likely to inconvenience travellers but, even as we escalate it ahead of Christmas, we remind people this dispute could be resolved today if the government puts more money on the table.

“Our members are telling us they have to cut back their spending at Christmas time because they are running out of money.

“They have been offered a below-inflation pay award, at a time when inflation is higher than 10 per cent.”

While National Highways’ may be confident it can handle the added pressure caused by the walkouts, it is no secret that the big Christmas getaway is about to get started, with Friday and Saturday accounting for 40 per cent of seasonal travel or 7.9m journeys, according to the RAC, a situation partially eased by the temporary removal of major roadworks only to be further complicated by the RMT’s latest round of rail strikes commencing on Christmas Eve.

The AA warned the PCS strike would place “more pressure on ‘smart’ motorway safety systems and those who check it” and said it hoped that “adequate resources are in place to spot drivers in vulnerable situations and to take positive actions”.

Also expressing some concern was RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding, who said: “Traffic officers are often the first responders when something goes wrong on England’s most important and busiest roads.

“It is the traffic officers’ prompt action that often averts more serious problems and the associated traffic delays, so their presence will be sorely missed over the festive season when no one wants to be stuck in a motorway hold-up despite the predicted holiday rush.

“Without the traffic officer service on hand, relatively minor problems could quickly escalate.”

National Highways told The Independent it disputed Mr Gooding’s assertion, commenting: “We have traffic officers on the roads – if needed we can share resource between regions.

“For on-road traffic officers, we divert colleagues from patrols on all-purpose trunk roads to busier motorways. That’s why we say we’re confident that the impact of these strikes on our day-to-day operations will be minimal.

“As a comparison we ran at 20-30 per cent absenteeism due to Covid during the pandemic and outside of lockdown periods when traffic flows were approaching normal levels without impact.”

The body advised drivers to check their fuel, tyre pressure, engine oil, water and lights to ensure their vehicles are in tip-top condition before setting out on long journeys this Christmas.