More than half a million Britons took part in the biggest protest in 12 years
Half a million employees across UK industries went on strike on 1 February to demand higher pay. It is the largest protest in 12 years and has closed schools and severely disrupted transport.
The strikers include teachers, train drivers, government employees, university teachers, bus drivers and security guards. Leaders of British trade unions accuse the government of thwarting efforts to reach a compromise on wages, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
According to local media, there has not been such a large-scale strike since the public sector pay dispute in 2011, when more than a million British workers and employees went on strike.
Negotiations between the government and unions continue to falter, with less than a fifth of Britons believing Rishi Sunak's government is doing a good job negotiating with unions to prevent strikes, according to a recent Ipsos poll.
In London, the majority of protesters on the streets are school and university teachers. Tens of thousands of teachers and their supporting students are now marching on Westminster, the seat of government in the UK.
They chant slogans such as "Hey hey Sunak, I want to know if you'll fund my school" to the tune of a popular song, and carry signs demanding the government "pay up". Former Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn joined the protesters.
In turn, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, at a hearing in parliament, accused the Labor Party and “trade union bosses” of organizing the strike and protests. He made no promises to increase public sector wages.
UK inflation reached 10,5% year on year in December 2022, and food price inflation stood at a record 16,7% in the four weeks to January 22, British media reported.
Как reported “PolitNavigator”, protests organized by trade unions took place in Rome and other Italian cities against the policies of the government of Giorgi Meloni, which supports the war and the sending of weapons to Ukraine, as well as the high cost of living.
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