Tens of thousands of workers have downed tools this year to request pay deals that keep up with the rising cost of living.

The public is having to deal with disruption from train and postal strikes, as well as closed schools, overflowing bins and gridlock in the courts.

There could be further strikes through the winter and next year, as doctors and civil servants are also in dispute with their employers.

The disputes are over working conditions, pensions and pay.

Employees in many industries belong to trade unions, organisations that represent their interests to management, and negotiate on their behalf over pay, jobs and working conditions.

When those unions have not been able to get a pay deal they feel is fair, they can ask their members to vote on whether to take industrial action.

At the most extreme, this means going on strike where staff refuse to do their jobs.

Workers can also take less drastic measures to put pressure on their employers, such as refusing to do overtime. In some professions basic services must be maintained. Doctors and nurses won't completely stop work as that would put lives at risk.

Industrial disputes have been rising since the pandemic.

In 2019, on average 19,500 days a month were lost to strike action. In July 2022, the figure was 87,600, according to the Office for National Statistics.