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The strikes taking place in the Black Country this week - from college staff to rail workers

More strikes are due to take place this week as rows between unions and employers continue.

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Rail workers are striking again on thee separate days this month

Over the coming days employees at a Black Country housing association, a college and several train operators will be walking out.

The rows are mostly do with with pay, with unions unhappy about the deals being offered amid soaring inflation, while some are also picketing due to job conditions.

Here is a round-up of strike action taking place this week and in early October.

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Dozens of union members at the Black Country housing association are staging walkouts on Monday and Friday week as a row over pay continues.

GMB members at the housing association based in Walsall are striking on six days in September after being offered a 3.1 per cent pay rise deal.

Halesowen College

Staff at Halesowen College will be joining a picket line in a row over pay.

University and College Union (UCU) confirmed on Friday that around 4,000 staff across 29 colleges will take up to 10 days of strike action. This includes staff at Halesowen College, who will join picket lines on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

UCU says it's demanding a pay offer that reflects the soaring costs college staff are facing, adding that since 2009 pay in further education has fallen behind inflation by 35 per cent and the pay gap between school and college teachers stands at around £9,000.

In June, employer representative the Association of Colleges made a pay recommendation of 2.5 per cent.

Halesowen College said it understood the financial situation and wished "to make a really meaningful pay award to our staff – however, this must be affordable. Our college, and the whole FE Sector, requires additional funding to be able to address the financial pressures faced by our staff and create parity of wage with the schools sector".

Andy Dobson, Principal, added: “College staff deserve the sort of pay increase that colleges simply don’t have the money to pay. There are things that the government can do about this – by increasing the funding rates and by giving colleges the same VAT exemptions that benefit schools”.

Workers at Sandwell Council are also set to strike from October 6.

Rail strikes

Staff from two rail unions will be striking on Saturday, October 1, which is set to cripple services across the country and leave some areas without any trains at all.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), Aslef, the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) and Unite will walk out on Saturday October 1, with further action planned on October 5 and 8.

The strikes are part of a long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions, with special timetables for October 1 and 5 published this week, and October 8 early the following week.

The walkout on October 1 will affect those attending the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, as well as the London Marathon which is being held on Sunday, October 2.

The operators affected by the Aslef driver’s union will strike include Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry and West Midlands Trains.

Meanwhile, the RMT strike will affect 14 train operators including Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry and West Midlands Trains, while staff at Network Rail will also walkout.

TSSA staff at Avanti West Coast, Network Rail and West Midlands Trains will also walk out on Saturday.

West Midlands Railway says it will not be operating any trains on Saturday, October 1, or Wednesday, October 5. Some early morning services on Sunday, October 2, and Thursday, October 6, "may also be impacted due to displacement of trains".

"A significantly reduced timetable is expected to run on Saturday 8 October," the operator has warned.

Avanti West Coast says it is looking to see how the strikes would impact services, and hopes to have more information soon.

Even though Transport for Wales staff are not involved in the industrial action, the company has said it will be unable to operate services on October 1 due to Network Rail staff - who signal the trains - being on strike that day.