UK records largest strike in 12 years

Half a million workers went on strike across Britain on Wednesday calling for higher wages in the biggest strike in more than a decade, closing schools and severely disrupting transport.

As Europe grapples with a cost-of-living crisis, Britain’s trade union body, the Trades Union Congress, called it the “biggest day of strikes since 2011”.

The latest strikes come a day after more than 1.27 million people took to the streets in France, heightening pressure on the French government over pension reform plans.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called for wage increases to be “reasonable” and affordable, warning that large wage increases would jeopardize efforts to curb inflation.

But unions have accused millionaire Sunak of being out of touch with the challenges faced by ordinary working people struggling to make ends meet in the face of low-paid, precarious work and rising costs.

Teachers and machinists were among the latest groups to take action, as were border guards at British air and sea ports.

“The workload is always getting bigger and bigger and with inflation our salary is getting lower and lower,” London teacher Nigel Adams, 57, told AFP as he joined thousands of teachers marching through central London.

‘We’re exhausted. We pay the price and so do the kids,” he added as protesters held up signs reading “Pay Up” and “We can’t put your kids first if you put their teachers last”.

Britain has witnessed months of strikes by tens of thousands of workers – including postal workers, lawyers, nurses and retail workers – as UK inflation rose above 11 per cent, its highest level in more than 40 years.

Labor office employee and union representative Graham, who preferred not to give his last name, said workers had no choice but to strike because of the skyrocketing costs.

“Some of our members, even though they work, still have to visit food banks,” he said.

“Not only are wages not keeping pace, but things like rates, council tax and rents are going up. Everything we get is eaten away,” he added.

– ‘Slap in the face’ –

At London’s King’s Cross railway station, Kate Lewis, a 50-year-old charity worker, said she sympathized with the strikers despite her train being delayed.

“I understand. We are all in this together. All affected by inflation,” she said.

Another major commuter hub in the capital, London Bridge station, was completely closed.

A machinist who gave his name as Tony, 61, said the kind of pay raises being offered were insulting, especially in the wake of the pandemic.

“We worked through all of Covid. We were praised as key workers and then there is a slap in the face,” he said.

“I left home at 3 am to go to work. People were barbecuing, you could hear the bottles. I think we deserve a pay rise that keeps pace with inflation.”

Government and business leaders stand firm on wage demands.

With thousands of schools closed for the day, Education Minister Gillian Keegan told Times Radio she was “disappointed” that the teachers had walked out.

But union leader Mark Serwotka said the government’s position was “untenable”.

“It is not feasible for them to sit back and relax as this unprecedented number of union actions grows, as there are half a million today,” he told Sky News.

“Next week we’ll have paramedics and we’ll have nurses, and then the firefighters will be there,” he added, warning unions were prepared to strike all summer.

Prime Minister Sunak told parliament on Wednesday that the government has given teachers the “highest pay rise in 30 years”, including nine percent for newly qualified teachers.

He urged opposition leader Keir Starmer to say “the strikes are wrong and we should support our schoolchildren”.

– National meetings –

According to the latest official data, 1.6 million working days were lost to strikes from June to November last year – the highest six-month total in more than three decades – according to the Office for National Statistics.

A total of 467,000 working days were lost to strikes in November alone, the highest number since 2011, the ONS added.

In addition to the strikes, trade unions are also organizing demonstrations across the country against the Conservative government’s plans to oppose strikes in the public sector.

Sunak has introduced a bill requiring some frontline workers to maintain a minimum level of service during work interruptions.

AFP