Great Britain: Strikes cause problems across the country

Teachers hold flags and banners outside Holland Park School during a strike over wages in London on Feb. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

LONDON (AP) — Thousands of schools have closed some or all of their classrooms, rail services will halt and airport delays are expected Wednesday in what is shaping up to be Britain’s biggest strike in more than a decade, as unions intensify pressure on government to demand better wages amid cost-of-living crisis.

The Trade Union Congress, a federation of trade unions, estimates that up to half a million workers, including teachers, university staff, civil servants, border agents, and train and bus drivers, will leave their jobs across the country.

More actions are planned for the next few days, including those of nurses and ambulance workers.

Britons have been suffering from problems in their daily lives for months due to the bitter dispute between unions and government over wages and working conditions. But Wednesday’s walkouts are a preview of protests in multiple key sectors.

The last time the country saw a mass work stoppage on this scale was in 2011, when more than a million workers joined a one-day strike in a dispute over pensions.

Union officials say that despite some wage hikes — like the government’s proposed 5% offer to teachers — wages in the public sector have not kept pace with rising inflation, meaning workers have lost purchasing power.

The Trades Union Congress said on Wednesday that, on average, a public sector worker lost 203 pounds ($250) a month compared to 2010, taking inflation into account.

In Britain, inflation is running at 10.5% — the highest in 40 years — fueled by sharp increases in food and energy. Although some experts expect price rises to slow this year, the British economic outlook remains grim. The International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday Britain will be the only major economy to contract this year, underperforming sanctions-haunted Russia.

Nicola Hawkins, an elementary school teacher, said the strike was the only way to shine a spotlight on chronic underfunding in public schools and to draw the government’s attention.

“It’s very difficult to make the decision to go on strike, but I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s actually in everyone’s best interest in the long run,” he said. “It has been pointed out that hiring targets are not being met, teachers are leaving, but our salaries have been falling over the last decade.”

According to the National Union of Education, some 23,000 schools will be affected on Wednesday and it is estimated that 85% will close totally or partially. Also on strike are museum workers, London bus drivers, coast guards and border officials who check passports at airports.

“Everybody got out…of course there’s going to be some disruption and some lines,” Phil Douglas, Border Force CEO, told reporters. “I do not rule out further actions.”

Mick Whelan, general secretary of the train drivers’ union ASLEF, said the government must listen to workers’ demands.

“Everyone knows someone who works somewhere who is on strike, about to go on strike, or voting to go on strike,” he explained. “It’s quite simple, the government has to listen: the people of this country are talking and says loud and clear that he wants a cost-of-living increase.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s office acknowledged that Wednesday’s wave of strikes will cause “significant disruption” to the population, saying “negotiations, not picket lines, are the right approach.” But union leaders maintain that the executive has refused to negotiate and its offers are insufficient to suspend the strikes.

Unions have also been angered by the government’s plans to pass a new law that would curb the consequences of strikes by enforcing minimum services in key sectors, including health care and transport.

Lawmakers endorsed the bill on Monday, which has been described by unions as an attack on their right to strike.

Thousands of people are expected to take part in protests against the new law in London and other cities on Wednesday.

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