Who is striking? How this coming week’s walkouts will affect you

It is the week when families across the UK gear up for Christmas - but before settling down to turkey and sprouts there will be further industrial action to deal with first.

In the coming days, ambulance drivers, nurses, driving examiners and highway workers will all be striking.

Then a fresh walkout by postal workers will disrupt last-minute deliveries of cards and presents - while further stoppages on the railways from Christmas Eve will make travelling home a challenge for many.

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

So what is the week ahead looking like?

Nurses on strike again

Across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, nurses from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) union are walking out on Tuesday 20 December.

The strike will involve staff in about a quarter of hospitals and community teams in England, all health boards in Northern Ireland and all but one in Wales.

Under trade union laws, life-preserving care has to be provided - so all nursing staff are expected to work in services such as intensive and emergency care.

But the action will affect routine services, such as planned operations, district nursing and mental health care.

• What is the nursing dispute about? - read our full guide

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

Ambulance workers out

Ambulance staff across most of England and Wales will go on strike on Wednesday 21 December in a dispute over pay.

The co-ordinated walkout by the three main ambulance unions - Unison, GMB and Unite - will affect non-life threatening calls only.

However, it could mean people who have had trips and falls not being responded to.

• Read more: Ambulance staff to strike

Road disruption

National Highways traffic officers in the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) working in London and the south-east of England will stop work from 22 to 25 December.

The strike will involve control centre staff. Traffic officers who work in the aftermath of accidents will also stop work.

PCS says its rolling programme of strike action "will have a significant impact". However, National Highways says no roads will be closed and it has "well-rehearsed resilience plans in place".

Another Royal Mail strike

The next strikes by Royal Mail staff are due to take place on 23 and 24 December - some of the busiest days for pre-Christmas deliveries.

On strike days Royal Mail says it will not be able to deliver first and second-class letters.

However, it will deliver as many parcels and Special Delivery letters as possible.

Royal Mail delivery offices and customer service points will be closed. Letters will not be collected from post boxes.

• How will Royal Mail strikes affect Christmas?

Border Force walkout

Border Force staff are going on strike for eight days over Christmas at Heathrow and Gatwick airports.

Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow and Manchester airports, as well as the port of Newhaven, will also be affected.

The strike will take place from 23-26 and 28-31 December.

Heathrow has warned passport checks may take longer on strike days. The government says travellers could face "serious disruption".

And if you're thinking about booking a last-minute flight, here is an extra spanner in the works - British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have stopped selling new tickets for inbound flights to Heathrow on the days of the Border Force strikes.

Train strain

The RMT rail workers' union has announced further strikes from 18:00 GMT on Saturday 24 until 06:00 GMT on Tuesday 27 December.

Previous strikes by the RMT have had a major impact on services throughout England, Scotland and Wales.

Network Rail says passengers should check their train-operating company's website and only travel if absolutely necessary.

• The train strike days in December and January

Bus drivers' dispute

Drivers in south and west London who are in the Unite union and work for operator Abellio will walk out on 24 December in a dispute over pay.

Areas affected include Battersea, Beddington, Hayes, Southall, Twickenham and Walworth.

• Read our story on the bus driver dispute

Driving tests cancelled

Civil servants in the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) - including driving examiners and some job centre workers - are striking most days until early January.

But the industrial action is regional - with different areas affected each week. This week, until 24 December, the walk-outs will be in north-west England and Yorkshire and the Humber.

• Take a look at when other parts of Britain will see PCS strikes

Some vehicle testing and enforcement services might also be unavailable.

Check out our full rundown of all the December and January strikes.

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