Hundreds of thousands of workers, including school teachers, will go on strike this Wednesday in the UK in what will be the biggest day of industrial action in a decade.
Teachers in England and Wales, affiliated to the National Education Union (NEU), will begin their first day of strike action on Wednesday, which threatens to disrupt activity in more than 23,000 schools.
NEU has calculated that around 85 percent of schools in England and Wales will remain totally or partially closed, according to DPA.
The walkouts, which could involve more than 100,000 teachers in a pay dispute, coincide with strikes by university lecturers, train drivers, civil servants, bus drivers and security guards.
Rail commuters also face another day of travel disruption as train drivers will strike once again in a long-running dispute over wages, jobs and conditions.
Protests are scheduled to be held across the country against the UK government’s controversial plans to enact a new law on minimum service levels during strikes.
For its part, the Rishi Sunak government has admitted that the mass strike will be «very difficult» for citizens, saying it is «disappointed» that school principals do not know for sure how many teachers will be available.
British ministers have insisted that raising salaries to the level demanded by the unions would boost inflation, while their main priority is to reduce this level in the coming weeks.
The UK has recently been hit by a wave of strikes and walkouts due to the current economic crisis. In addition, there have also been protests involving airport workers, railway workers, lawyers and letter carriers, among others.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
