Who is striking? How Saturday 17 December’s walkouts will affect you

RMT strike picket line, and a photo of BBC employment correspondent Zoe Conway
By Zoe Conway
Employment correspondent

Saturday will very much have the feeling of Groundhog Day. The same groups of workers will be on strike as Friday - and it will still be cold. Rail passengers will bear the brunt of the disruption.

However, if you are flying out from Heathrow Airport this weekend, you'll be pleased to know that a planned strike by some baggage handlers has been called off. The Unite union is considering a new pay offer - although a four-day walkout starting on 29 December is still pencilled in.

This is my latest strike briefing, with lots of useful information on what is happening - and how it might affect you.

So what is this weekend looking like?

Another day of train delays

Members of the UK's biggest rail union - the RMT - are striking until 23:59 on Saturday. Services throughout England, Scotland and Wales are affected.

The advice is not to travel by train, but if you must:

  • Make sure you check with your rail operator before setting out, to see which trains are running

  • Be prepared for no services at all on some routes

  • Be prepared for no early morning or late night services on other routes

  • Expect busy carriages with only one in five services operating between 07:30 and 18:30 GMT

On Sunday morning, many services will start later.

The RMT is also planning four consecutive days of action over Christmas - with more dates in early January.

Watch Make Sense of Strikes on iPlayer and find out more about why people are striking and whether industrial action works.

National Highways

Members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) - who keep check on England's motorways and major roads - are taking part in targeted regional strikes over the coming weeks.

Until 23:59 on Saturday, three areas - the north-west, the north-east, and Yorkshire and the Humber - are affected.

The staff - who do jobs like monitoring CCTV cameras, programming electronic warning signs and attending accidents - walked out on Friday morning.

National Highways says no roads will be closed and it has "well-rehearsed resilience plans in place".

But take extra care - as rain, sleet, ice and snow are forecast in northern England this weekend.

Bus drivers

Getting around parts of central, south and west London on public transport will be even more tricky on Saturday because - as well as the rail strike - some bus drivers have also stopped work.

Unite union members - based at bus garages in Battersea, Beddington, Hayes, Southall, Twickenham and Walworth - walked out on Friday morning.

They work for bus company Abellio, which operates dozens of routes.

No driving tests for some

A walkout by driving examiners and other civil servants continues this weekend - but only in north-east England and Scotland.

Members of the PCS union are striking most days now until early January - but the industrial action is regional.

From Monday 19 December until Christmas Eve, north-west England and Yorkshire and the Humber will be affected.

The strike will not affect theory tests.

What about next week?

We will have another full briefing for you at teatime on Sunday looking ahead to strikes in the week running up to Christmas.

Nurses and ambulance workers, the RMT rail union, plus Border Force, Highways Agency and Royal Mail staff all have walkouts planned.

Follow Zoe Conway on Twitter

How are you affected by the strikes? Are you taking part in strike action? You can email: haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

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