Collective Bargaining Dispute: Nationwide Strikes in Great Britain

Up to half a million people could be out of work in the UK today. Teachers, train drivers and public sector workers join the struggle for better wages. Last year in 2011, there was a strike of this magnitude.

The biggest strike in the UK in more than a decade has begun. At the same time, not only teachers, but also many train drivers and public sector employees joined the strike for pay hike. The National Education Union estimates that 85 per cent of schools in England and Wales will be affected. According to this, more than 100,000 teachers may go on strike. Apart from the teachers’ union, the PCS union in the public sector has called for a walkout of about 100,000 members in 124 government institutions.

The Trade Union Congress estimates that around half a million workers across the country will be out of work, including teachers, university staff, civil servants, border officials and train and bus drivers. More activities, by nurses, are planned for the coming days and weeks.

The last time the country saw strikes of this magnitude was in 2011, when more than a million public sector workers participated in a one-day strike over pensions.

“I’m disappointed it came to this.”

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan indicated that talks with unions were ongoing. He told Times Radio this morning about the strike: “I’m disappointed that the unions have come to this conclusion.” This is not a last resort.

Employees do not want to be satisfied with previous offers because they have recently been ten percent below the level of the inflation rate. The Conservative government rejects the improvements, pointing to a “vicious circle” of rising prices.

A collective bargaining dispute has been raging for months. Through a controversial law, the government wants to ensure that basic services are guaranteed, for example rescue workers and nursing staff and firefighters and railways. Unions reject the plan as undemocratic. Along with the strikes, there will be protests against the proposed law.