Roughly 11,500 WGA members walked off the job in May, angered by how working conditions have changed in the streaming TV era.

The government passed legislation in July which requires striking workers in key sectors such as rail and fire services to provide minimum levels of service during industrial action, but this did not include hospital staff.

Writers are seeking higher compensation and protections around use of artificial intelligence.

Junior doctors have staged 19 days of strikes so far this year, while consultants have walked out on four, resulting in tens of thousands of cancelled appointments in the National Health Service.

The National Health Service has been hit by waves of strikes in recent months as soaring inflation eats into wages and pandemic backlogs coupled with staff shortages increase workloads.

The health director-general says problems need to be dealt with through joint involvement.

Many of the people aboard an intercity passenger train that collided with a freight train were university students heading to the northern city of Thessaloniki from Athens after a long public holiday weekend.

Rail services will be disrupted, school classes cancelled and refinery deliveries impacted as workers across multiple sectors walk out.

Large disruption to education and commuter travel is anticipated in the latest mass stoppages by public and private sector workers as the government and company bosses stand firm over wage demands.

Sunak is facing growing pressure due to labour unrest in the country, with nurses, train drivers and teachers having staged strikes for better pay rises as double-digit inflation squeezes household budgets.

French workers were striking and joining marches across the country, halting trains and cutting electricity production in protest against government plans to raise the retirement age by two years to 64.

The bill will encompass the health, education, fire and rescue, transport, border security and nuclear sectors.