London: Half a million workers went on strike in Britain on Wednesday, calling for higher wages in the largest such walkout in over a decade, closing schools and severely disrupting transport.
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As Europe battles a cost-of-living crisis, Britain's umbrella labour organisation the Trades Union Congress (TUC) called it the 'biggest day of strike action since 2011'.
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The latest strikes come a day after more than 1.27 million took to the streets in France, increasing pressure on the French government over pension reform plans.
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British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called for pay rises to be "reasonable" and affordable" warning that big pay rises would jeopardise attempts to tame inflation.
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But unions have accused millionaire Sunak of being out of touch with the challenges faced by ordinary working people struggling to make ends meet in the face of low paid, insecure work and spiralling costs.
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Teachers and train drivers were among the latest groups to act, as well as border force workers at UK air and seaports.
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"The workload is always bigger and bigger and with the inflation our salary is lower and lower," London teacher Nigel Adams, 57, told AFP as he joined thousands of teachers marching through central London.
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"We're exhausted. We're paying the price and so are the children," he added as protesters held up placards reading "Pay Up" and "We can't put your kids first if you put their teachers last".
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Britain has witnessed months of strikes by tens of thousands of workers - including postal staff, lawyers, nurses and employees in the retail sector - as UK inflation raced above 11 percent, the highest level in more than 40 years.
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A striking worker holds a placard which reads 'It Shouldn't Be This Hard' at a 'Right To Strike Rally' during joint strike action by train drivers, teachers, university staff and civil servants, in Leeds, UK, on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023.
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A striking teacher holds a banner which reads 'Pay Up'.
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Striking teachers march during joint strike action by train drivers, teachers, university staff and civil servants, in London, UK, on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. The day of coordinated industrial action is expected to be Britain’s most severe day of strikes for over a decade, piling pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative administration to resolve disputes with public sector workers by making more generous offers on pay.
Image Credit: Bloomberg
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