The British news agency PA spoke of the largest walkout since the start of the strike wave last year. Several BBC journalists also walked out to protest cuts at local stations. The three-day strike started at the beginning of the week. The British Medical Association (BMA) union has been on picket lines in front of British hospitals since Monday.
In Great Britain, strikes have been going on in numerous sectors for months. In view of the high inflation and higher energy prices, workers are mostly concerned with strong wage increases. In addition to the health sector, the railways, the post office and the border police are also affected.
26 percent loss of real wages
The strike by doctors without specialist training marked the start of the current wave of strikes and is the longest the profession has ever waged. NHS officials have expressed concern about the impact of the strike on patients.
According to the BMA, the junior doctors who are now on strike have lost 26 percent of their salaries in real terms since 2008. They work mainly in hospitals, sometimes also in general practitioners’ surgeries. Before the strike, the union had declared that at the beginning of their careers, doctors sometimes earned less than employees in some cafes.
Minister of Education disappointed
The focus of the strikers on Wednesday is Parliament in London. The background is the upcoming budget speech by Treasury Secretary Jeremy Hunt. The dispute between unions and the conservative government seems deadlocked. Mark Serwotka, the boss of the PCS union, which represents public sector workers, warned the strikes could last until the end of the year.
He called for a fair wage increase. “The government can end these strikes today by putting money on the table for our members,” said PCS boss Serwotka. “40,000 public sector workers use food banks and 45,000 claim benefits because they are so poor.”
Education Minister Gillian Keegan was disappointed. Scores of young people are missing important lessons, the Tory politician wrote in an open letter. She offered talks to the union on the condition that the strikes be suspended. “But it just seems to be about strikes and unnecessary disruption.” The teachers’ strike is only taking place in England, after progress in negotiations in Wales and Scotland.
London underground paralyzed
Due to a strike by subway drivers, local transport in London was largely paralyzed. Because of the strike – the first in eight years – no train ran on the “Tube”. The transport authority TFL warned that other means of transport such as buses, S-Bahn (overground) and trams were significantly fuller than usual.
The union ASLEF emphasized that its members are not interested in more money. “We just want TFL to commit to negotiating changes with us, rather than trying to enforce changes,” ASLEF organizer Finn Brennan told radio station LBC. “There’s a huge hole in the TFL budget because of the pandemic, and they want to fill that hole by downsizing, cutting working conditions and cutting pensions significantly.”
