Economic and social conflict continues to grow in England. This Wednesday, February 1st, schools remain closed, transportation is paralyzed and some government offices continue to be closed… The country is experiencing the first day of strikes, coordinated between various sectors and the magnitude of which is not registered more than one of each.

Economy Crysis was the origin of this unprecedented mobilization. Up to half a million people took to the streets to demand a pay rise that would allow them to deal with inflation, which for months had exceeded 10%, which has driven millions of people into poverty.

In the morning, London’s King’s Cross station, frequently used by thousands of people, was eerily quiet due to the rail strike; while Heathrow airport is operating despite the border police stoppage.

On the centenary day of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government, the Confederation of Trade Unions (TUC) announced that it was “the biggest strike day since 2011” with, for the first time in months of union action, the participation of university teachers and staff. . Thousands of schools remained closed following the National Education Union’s (NEU) call, forcing some parents to stay home to care for their children.

A social movement supported by the British

This did not prevent the various parent organizations from issuing a joint statement in which they expressed their “support” for the strike, pointing out the “consequences of years of underfunding” in education. Because of this, the Education Minister, Gillian Keegan, was shown on the Sky News television network “deeply concerned” and “disappointed” by the unemployment.

On the way to the action, the workers received massive support, with applause and horns from pedestrians, motorists and bus drivers who passed them.

“I need more money,” Ciara O’Sullivan told AFP. The 38-year-old teacher admitted to the news agency that he was “having trouble paying the rent”.

Nearby the employment agency, Graham, also went on strike, denouncing the fact that more workers “have to go to the food bank” to be able to eat.

Meanwhile, Tony, a 61-year-old train conductor, told AFP the government’s refusal to increase wages in line with inflation was a “slap in the face”, especially after the pandemic, when railroad workers continued to work.

The conservative government of Rishi Sunak declared itself impotent

According to the latest IMF estimates, the UK is likely to be the only major economy to experience a recession in 2023, with its gross domestic product contracting by 0.6%.

“I don’t want more… than to have a magic wand and pay everyone more,” the prime minister said on Monday during a visit to health workers. However, according to him, the increase in wages will trigger inflation and further worsen public finances.

In addition to wages keeping pace with inflation, workers and unions in all sectors decried what they saw as attacks on the right to strike; a “frontal attack on workers and unions”. They criticized a bill put forward in the House of Commons, which seeks to introduce minimum service in the event of a strike in public services.

Despite Downing Street’s assurances that its aim was not “to impair the right to strike, but to protect the public with a minimum network of services”, the project has been described by unions as “anti-strike legislation”. Paul Nowak, general secretary of the TUC, called the bill “undemocratic, unenforceable and likely illegal.”

In England, the strike has been going on for months. It’s about salary, but also about working conditions and pensions.

Despite hopes of progress in the rail sector, this Friday a new strike is scheduled, which for the first time in 20 years will be joined by firefighters. Nurses and ambulance workers will also return to union action later this month.

“The government’s position is untenable. It cannot ignore the growing and unprecedented strike,” the secretary general of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union, Mark Serwotka, said in ‘Sky News’, calling for a “much more realistic stance”. by the Executive.

With AFP and Reuters