In the most coordinated strike action in a generation, up to 500,000 British teachers, public employees, train drivers, and university lecturers have walked off the job to demand better pay and working conditions as wages fail to keep up with skyrocketing inflation.
According to the Trades Union Congress, almost 300,000 teachers are on strike on Wednesday.
Picket lines were erected by teachers at schools all across England and Wales as they demanded more pay in protests that divided the public.
As they passed, some citizens in cars honked their horns and raised a fist in protest, while others questioned the instructors’ intentions.
As school gates were closed and the majority of trains were stopped, many households resumed learning and working from home in a manner similar of COVID-19 lockdowns.
A YouGov survey conducted in the latter part of last year found that 59 percent of participants supported a strike by the education sector.
About 23,000 schools will be impacted on Wednesday, with an estimated 85% being entirely or partially closed, according to the National Education Union.
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn demanded a “fairer taxation structure” as he joined London’s striking workers.
According to Corbyn, “This country cannot afford the levels of inequality we have.”
More billionaires than ever before reside in Britain, he declared. “During COVID-19, a lot of people, including billionaires and millionaires, made a lot of money. For it, they haven’t paid taxes.
A striking teacher named Jack claimed that, given the circumstances, it was “nearly impossible” to assist every child in need.
Teachers are more than just educators, he declared. They work in social services. They work in nursing. Within the work itself, there are numerous different professions. Additionally, it is not long-term emotionally sustainable for teaching.
The coastguard and border officers who staff the passport control booths at airports are among the other workers on strike, in addition to museum employees, London bus drivers, and border officials.
In the upcoming days and weeks, further activity is planned, including by nurses and ambulance personnel.
According to union executives, despite certain compensation increases—like a 5 percent offer the government made to teachers—wages in the public sector have not kept up with rapidly rising costs, thus resulting in workers taking pay cuts.
According to the Trades Union Congress, after accounting for inflation, the average public sector employee now makes 203 pounds ($250) less per month than they did in 2010.
To combat the “soaring levels of inflation that currently stand at roughly 10.5 percent, the highest among the G7 group of major economies,” teachers are calling for large salary rises.
Given that many of us are still making what we did ten years ago, many instructors are saying, “Look, we cannot afford 2023 pricing,” he added.
I would love, nothing more would give me greater pleasure, than to wave a magic wand and have all of you paid lots more, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said to public health employees he visited on a visit on Monday.
Making sure the government manages its borrowing responsibly is crucial to controlling inflation and halving it. If that happens, the situation will only get worse. It’s also crucial to ensure that pay agreements are reasonable and equitable.
Higher salary rises, according to education minister Gillian Keegan, would increase inflation more, but the government’s position remained the same.
The National Education Union’s Mary Bousted set a deadline for the government.
The government has 27 days until the next strike in England, which will be a regional strike in the northwest, Bousted told Sky News. “We want this to be a one-day strike,” he added. “You have 27 days to sit down and seriously bargain with us. We’re ready to carry it out.
We need to figure out how to deal with the shortage of teachers in our schools, she said. The income of teachers has fallen so significantly over the past 12 years, more so than almost any other profession, that we must find a long-term solution.
