Strike wave grows in England

In the United Kingdom, where inflation is at its highest level in 41 years, new sectors join those who have decided to go on strike in recent months over wage increases offered below inflation, disagreements in the retirement and working conditions.

Many unions, which argue that wages are melting in the face of rising cost of living and inflation in the country, and therefore do not accept wage increases offered under inflation above 11 percent per year, are making the decision to strike after strike. the other.

A wide range of occupational groups are among the participants in the action, including teachers, bus drivers, dock workers, journalists, public servants, criminal lawyers, railway, airport, university, aviation and postal service workers.

In addition to strike decisions, thousands of people protesting cost of living and austerity policies frequently organize demonstrations and marches across the country, as well as in the capital London.

The government, on the other hand, is looking for ways to deal with the rising wave of strikes. In this context, the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, warned that the Government could give a “hard response” to the unions that insist on going on strike, and assured that they are working on new laws against the strike wave.

EDUCATORS ON STRIKE

More than 70,000 university workers in England went on strike for three days on November 24, 25 and 30 over disputes over pay, pensions and working conditions.

The National Union of Students also supported the strike, which was launched by tens of thousands of professors, researchers, librarians and other staff from 150 universities across the country.

University workers organized a large-scale march in the capital, London, on the last day of the strike. Numerous unions, non-governmental organizations and associations, as well as students, supported the march. Teachers in Scotland also joined the strike over the pay dispute.

Scotland’s first nationwide strike against schools since the 1980s has affected students in almost all primary and secondary schools, as well as many kindergartens. Unions representing teachers reject the offer of a 5 percent pay increase as “humiliating.”

Teachers who are members of the Scottish Secondary Teachers Association (SSTA), the National Association of Head Teachers and Teachers (NASUWT) will also go on strike on 10 and 11 January if no agreement is reached.

ASSISTANCE EMPLOYEES ARE ON STRIKE

More than 600 employees of Shelter, a charity that provides shelter support and advice to homeless people across the country, began a two-week strike on December 5 over a dispute over a pay increase.

Aid workers, who do not accept the offer of a 3 percent wage increase in the face of rising cost of living and inflation, will continue their action until December 18.

In a statement made by the Unite union, it was claimed that the offer of a 3 per cent raise caused some charity workers to worry that they would not be able to pay their rent and would be left homeless.

BUS DRIVERS LEAVE JOB

Bus drivers serving the west and south of the capital, London, began a 10-day strike on November 22 over disagreement over a pay increase. 1,000 bus drivers affiliated with the Unite union decided to quit their jobs, alleging that a salary increase could not be agreed with the transport company Abellio.

Many routes had little or no service due to the strike, which affected some 60 bus routes in the capital. The bus services on the routes where there was no strike due to the driver’s stoppage were observed to be congested.

The bus drivers, who went on strike for 3 days last month, will continue their strike on December 1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 16 and 17.

JOURNALISTS JOIN THE WAVE OF STRIKE

Journalists working for publications affiliated with the “Reach plc” media group in England joined the strike wave in August over disagreement over pay increases.

In the UK and Ireland, more than 1,000 journalists working for the Reach plc media group, which includes more than 130 print and online magazines and newspapers, went on strike in August.

The decision to leave the job came after the journalists’ National Union of Journalists (NUJ) rejected an offer of a 3 per cent or £750 pay increase.

The employees demanded a fair wage increase from the media group, which includes many newspapers and magazines such as “Daily Star”, “Daily Mirror” and “Daily Express”. Negotiations were held between the union and the company regarding the postponement of the strike, but no consensus could be reached.

On the other hand, criminal lawyers who quit their jobs in July and August because they considered the proposed increase in legal aid fees in England and Wales insufficient, this time went on indefinite strike in September.

The Criminal Lawyers Association (CBA) rejected the government’s 15 percent increase from September in legal aid fees paid to criminal lawyers to represent defendants who cannot afford a attorney. The CBA seeks a 25 percent increase in attorneys’ fees.

FIRST STRIKE VOTE FOR NURSES

Thousands of nurses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are also preparing to take part in a two-day mass strike on December 15 and 20. The RCN (Royal College of Nursing) union, which represents nurses, held a strike vote for the first time in its 106-year history. In the vote, the majority of union-affiliated nurses voted to go on strike.

Pat Cullen, general secretary and chief executive officer of RCN, which has more than 300,000 members nationwide, said in a statement about the nurses’ strike decision: “Anger has turned to action and our members are saying ‘Now Enough'”. he used the phrase.

Cullen stressed that nurses have been treated unfairly in terms of pay for years. In England and Wales, more than 10,000 ambulance and emergency service workers decided to go on strike on December 21 and 28, amid a dispute over pay increases and working conditions.

RAILWAY EMPLOYEES

Currently, approximately 40 thousand railway workers in the UK plan to go on collective strike for 8 days, 4 times, 48 ​​hours each, on December 13 and 14, December 16 and 17, January 3 and 4 and January 6 and 7. January.

The British government, for its part, argues that the dispute between rail workers and employers is going on longer than necessary, arguing that it is not possible to increase employee wages in line with inflation due to economic conditions.

The country’s railway workers had gone on strike many times in the previous months and organized the “biggest strike of railway and underground workers in the last 30 years” on June 21, 23 and 25.

AIRPORT BORDER SECURITY PERSONNEL

Border security staff working at England’s airports will go on strike for 8 days over the Christmas period.

In the statement from the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), it was announced that border security staff working at Birmingham, Cardiff, Gatwick, Glasgow, Heathrow and Manchester airports and the port of Newhaven will go on strike on 23 from December. December 26 and 28-31.

Rejecting the government’s 2 percent wage increase proposal, the PCS union is demanding a 10 percent wage increase. Passport control staff make up the majority of the union members who will participate in the walkout. It has been reported that license examination inspectors who are members of the union will also go on strike.

MILITARY PERSONNEL MAY BE INVOLVED

The UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that 1 in 8 UK businesses suffered disruptions in October due to business closures affecting public transport, postal services, telecommunications and other sectors.

ONS emphasized that the strikes hit the small business, retail and construction sectors the hardest. The British government announced that it could deploy approximately 2,000 military personnel to avoid disruptions caused by strikes, especially over the Christmas period.

Noting that army personnel are trained to support a variety of service sectors, government officials said that military personnel can be deployed as ambulance drivers and firefighters.

Armed forces personnel in the UK also provided “temporary” support last year to ease pressure on service stations due to fuel supply problems. Some 200 soldiers, including 100 drivers, delivered fuel to gas stations across the country. (AA)