Striking Royal Mail workers gather on a picket line outside Balham Delivery Office as they stage a 24-hour industrial action in October (Picture: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

The number of working days lost to strikes in one month has reached the highest in 11 years, new figures have revealed.

A total of 417,000 working days were lost due to walk-outs in October 2022.

This is the highest number since November 2011, according to a report from The Office for National Statistics.

It comes as many workers struggle to cope with the cost of living crisis, including the soaring rate of inflation.

Two 48-hour rail strikes will go ahead this week after pay talks collapsed, it was announced yesterday.

Meanwhile, Border Force staff are set to strike over Christmas at Heathrow, Gatwick and a number of other airports.

Strikes at the Department for Work and Pensions, the Highways Agency and among driving examiners have already been announced.

Around 40,000 civil servants are using food banks and workers ‘have no option’ but to walk out, the general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services union said.

Mark Serwotka cautioned last week: ‘This is a crisis… PCS members come to me, sometimes in tears, saying they can’t afford to put food on the table.’

This is a breaking news story, more to follow soon… Check back shortly for further updates.

Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected]. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.

New figures have been released by The Office for National Statistics.