A number of labour strikes were held throughout 2021.
Background
A labour strike is a work stoppage, caused by the mass refusal of employees to work, usually in response to employee grievances, such as low pay or poor working conditions. Strikes can also take place to demonstrate solidarity with workers in other workplaces or to pressure governments to change policies. Since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, a number of strikes have occurred in responses to social injustices and poor conditions highlighted by the impact of the pandemic.
Timeline
Continuing strikes that begun before 2021
2020–21 Alabama aluminum plant strike
2018–2021 Haitian protests
2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest
2020–2021 Peruvian agrarian strike
2020–2021 Rolls-Royce Barnoldswick strikes
2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland
January
2021 Bolivian doctors' strike; 2021 British Gas strike, dispute between workers represented by the GMB and British Gas over fire-and-rehire policies across the United Kingdom; 2021 French labor protests, protests against the country's economic and employment conditions in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and proposed laws that would give greater powers to police; 2021 Hunts Point Produce Market strike, dispute between produce handlers and delivery drivers represented by Teamsters and the Hunts Point Produce Market in New York City, United States; 2021 St. Paul Park refinery strike dispute between oil refinery workers represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and Marathon Petroleum in Minnesota, United States; 2021 South Korean delivery workers strikes;
February
2021 Go North West strike, dispute between bus drivers represented by Unite the Union and Go North West in Greater Manchester, England; Media Without Choice 2021 Myanmar protests, part of the opposition to the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état; 2021 São Paulo teachers strike; 2021 Tunisair strike;
March
2021 Allegheny Technologies strike, dispute between workers represented by United Steelworkers and Allegheny Technologies Incorporated in the Northern United States; 2021 Amazon strikes; 2021 Columbia University strike, dispute between graduate students represented by the Graduate Workers of Columbia–United Auto Workers and Columbia University in New York City, United States; 2021 Manitoba hydro strike; 2021 St. Charles Bend strike, dispute between technical workers represented by the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals and the St. Charles Medical Center – Bend in Oregon, United States; 2021 Saint Vincent Hospital strike, dispute between nurses represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association and Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester, United States; Spectrum Strike;
April
2021 DVLA strike; 2021 Minas Gerais prostitute strike, strike by sex workers represented by the Associação das Prostitutas de Minas Gerais to pressure the Brazilian Ministry of Health into categorizing sex workers among priority groups for immunization against COVID-19; 2021 Olymel strike, dispute between meatpackers represented by the Confédération des syndicats nationaux and Olymel in Québec, Canada; 2021 New York University strike 2021 Oregon Tech strike, dispute between faculty members represented by the American Association of University Professors and the Oregon Institute of Technology in the United States; 2021 Port of Montreal strike; 2021 Thurrock bin strike, dispute between bin workers represented by Unite the Union and Thurrock Council in England; 2021 Warrior Met Coal strike, dispute between workers represented by the United Mine Workers of America and Warrior Met Coal Inc. in Alabama, United States; 2021 Virginia Volvo Trucks strike, dispute between workers represented by United Auto Workers and Volvo Trucks in Virginia, United States;
May
2021 American McDonalds strikes; May 2021 Palestinian general strike; 2021 Ugandan nurses strikes; 2021 University of Liverpool strike;
June
2021 Aotearoa nurses strike, dispute between nurses represented by the New Zealand Nurses Organisation and the government of Aotearoa; 2021 Cook County nurses strike 2021 Danish nurses strike, dispute between nurses represented by the Danish Nurses' Organization and the Danish Ministry of Health; 2021 Europe 1 strike; 2021 Gorillas strikes, dispute between delivery workers represented by the Gorillas Workers Collective and Gorillas across Germany; 2021 Iran workers' strike; 2021 Vale strike;
