Half a million British teachers, civil servants, train drivers and lecturers went on strike on Wednesday. This is the country’s biggest strike day since 2011.
Nearly 300,000 teachers are expected to go on strike in the UK general strike on Wednesday. Here, teachers demonstrated in Manchester. Across Britain, schools were closed.
A general strike closed schools across Britain, halted most of the railways and put the military on standby to assist with border control.
Teachers make up the bulk of the biggest strike in at least a decade.
Nearly 300,000 are expected not to show up for work Wednesday.
Union leader Mary Bousted told Reuters teachers felt they had no other choice but to go on strike, because the drop in wages had led to many job changes. This has made it even more difficult for those who have stayed.
– Over the last twelve years, there has been a truly catastrophic long-term decline in wages. “None of the people behind me wanted to attack today, but they said, with great reluctance, that was enough, and things had to change,” said Bousted.
Rail workers strike outside Euston station in London.
Historically high inflation
Prices have not risen faster in Britain in more than 40 years, and workers in a number of sectors, including health, transport and postal services, have been on strike in recent months.
The government has said that giving in to demands for a pay rise will only lead to higher inflation, and Education Minister Gillian Keegan stuck to this on Wednesday.
– What we can’t do is provide wage increases that push up inflation to one part of the workforce and make inflation worse for others, he told the BBC.
Members of the PCS union, which organizes workers in a number of public bodies, demonstrate outside the Treasury in London.
Several sectors
Also 100,000 civil servants from more than 120 different government agencies went on strike on Wednesday, along with tens of thousands of lecturers and railroad workers. Protests are also planned against the law which would limit strike opportunities in some sectors.
Next week, nurses, ambulance staff, paramedical staff and others in the health sector will go on strike. This week, the fire service also supported a nationwide strike.
What they have in common is that they are asking for wage increases that outpace inflation. The increase in food and energy costs has put a lot of pressure on many people.
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