In the United Kingdom, hundreds of thousands of workers from various sectors went on strike again on Wednesday. British media write that it will be one of the biggest strikes since social unrest began last year. The London Underground came to a complete standstill.
Teachers, practicing doctors, civil servants, regional journalists at the BBC and drivers on the London Underground will go on strike on Wednesday. The British government is meeting today to discuss the budget and a range of workers are using the opportunity to make demands for higher pay.
There has been months of social unrest in the United Kingdom due to inflation of more than 10 percent.
Many schools in England are closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays. In Wales and Scotland, teaching staff are not on strike. All lines are closed on the London Underground. The disruption will continue till Tuesday morning. British doctors’ assistants have been on strike since Monday, leading to the postponement of many consultations and surgeries. Among others, this comes on top of a significant backlog in previous operations of nursing and ambulance staff.
Willingness to go on strike is high among civil servants on Wednesday. According to PCS, the largest civil servants union, tens of thousands of civil servants have to rely on food banks because they can no longer make ends meet. “It’s a shame for the government that there is so much poverty in public services,” their union leader Mark Servotka told Sky News.
Another rally is planned for late Wednesday near Westminster, where British Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt will present his budget to Parliament.
