Travellers face significant disruption this month with four more train strikes - while bus drivers in Kent have also started the first of four planned walk-outs.

Workers across numerous sectors are escalating their demands for better wages, amid grim forecasts over the cost of living crisis, with strikes or ballots being announced for the autumn on an increasingly regular basis.

Over 600 bus workers, employed by Arriva, intend to take part in four days of action this month backed by their union Unite if disagreements over a pay rise can't be settled.

Alongside today's strike, which coincides with the first day of term for many schools in the county, additional walk outs are earmarked for Friday, September 16, Tuesday, September 20 and Friday, September 30.

Members have rejected a pay offer of around 10%, which they say, with the rate of inflation currently standing at 12.3 amounts to a pay cut in real terms.

The striking staff are based at Gillingham, Maidstone, Gravesend and Tunbridge Wells Arriva depots.

Unite regional officer Janet Nobbs said: "Bus strikes will inevitably cause severe disruption across Kent but this dispute is entirely of Arriva’s own making. Arriva has had every opportunity to resolve this dispute but it has chosen not to do so."

An indefinite, uninterrupted strike by barristers in England and Wales, who are protesting at Government-set fees for legal aid work, has also now begun.

The Criminal Bar Association wants to see a 25% increase in legal aid fees for representing defendants who otherwise could not afford lawyers.

Industrial action by the profession first started back in April, with a series of shorter strikes happening throughout spring and summer. The latest walkout is expected to make worse existing court delays, while ministers have described the action as 'irresponsible' but the CBA says it is trying to protect the long-term future of the service and the profession.

Cancelled bus services, to take into account striking workers, won't be the only distruption to transport services in September.

After a summer of rail strikes - which failed to lead to an agreement between rail bosses and workers - further walkouts have been announced by unions representing transport staff, railway workers and train drivers which are expected to cause considerable upheaval for travellers.

The first walkout - announced by drivers' union Aslef - will take place across 12 train operating companies on Thursday, September 15.

Lasting 24 hours, just like two similar bouts of action in July, the strike will include members working for Avanti West Coast, Chiltern, Cross Country, Greater Anglia, Great Western Railways, Hull, LNER, London Overground, Northern, Southeastern, Transpennine Express and West Midlands Trains.

The union, which claims most train drivers haven't seen a pay increase since 2019 that means workers are now experiencing a hefty pay cut as a result of inflation, is demanding better wages and conditions for its members.

National strike action by RMT union members will also take place on September 15 and again on Saturday, September 17.

The union believes more than 40,000 of its members will strike on each occasion, warning it will “effectively shut down” the rail network for 24 hours each time.

Following Aslef and the RMT, will be union members from the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA), based at nine rail companies and Network Rail, which are expected to walkout from noon on Monday, September 26 for 24 hours.

The strike action will coincide with the Labour Party Conference, being held in Liverpool, and follows previous walkouts last month by members at companies including Avanti West Coast, c2c, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Great Western Railway, LNER and Southeastern.

TSSA union leader Manuel Cortes said: "I will be standing on our picket line in Liverpool and will be encouraging fellow delegates and Labour MPs to do likewise, so they can rightly show they stand shoulder-to-shoulder with those fighting the Tories’ cost of living crisis."

Ongoing disputes involving nurses, other NHS staff and Royal Mail employees are also expected to continue through the autumn unless agreements over pay and working conditions can be reached between management and union bosses.

This Thursday and Friday - September 8 and 9 - Royal Mail workers in the Communication Workers union will strike again over pay before ballots open on September 15 among nurses represented by the Royal College of Nursing who are talking about striking in England for the very first time.

Pat Cullen, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive, said: "Nursing staff will stop at nothing to protect their patients. Staff shortages are putting patient safety at risk and the government’s failure to listen has left us with no choice but to advocate for strike action.

"A lifetime of service must never mean a lifetime of poverty. Ministers’ refusal to recognise the skill and responsibility of the job is pushing people out of the profession. The next prime minister must change course urgently."

Unite is also currently asking its NHS members to vote on possible strike action while members of the Unite union at Stansted airport are also currently considering strike action through a ballot that closes on September 19. This action could include security officers, cleaners, firefighters and airport maintenance staff.

The Communication Workers' Union is also expected to be preparing a ballot for members across Capita O2 and Tesco Mobile partnerships while at the end of the month a national strike ballot also opens for Public and Commercial Service union members over pay, pensions, jobs and redundancy terms.