Millions of Britons are on strike – ZDFheute

Today the “winter of discontent” in Great Britain reaches its climax with the largest strike in decades. It is estimated that half a million employees in many industries have stopped working. They are demonstrating primarily for higher wages, but also for better working conditions – and for the right to strike.

Seven unions coordinated the national day of protest and called on their members to take industrial action. Large parts of the United Kingdom are facing a standstill. Downing Street warned of “major disruption”.

What is sick Great Britain? Employees have been striking repeatedly for weeks. No way out in sight:

Teachers, train drivers, university lecturers, government employees, bus drivers and security guards are striking at the same time. There is great dissatisfaction in all sectors. The National Education Union assumes that teaching in 85% of schools in England and Wales has been affected, with more than 100,000 teachers wanting to strike.

Education Minister Gillian Keegan indicated that discussions with unions were continuing. She told the Radio Times this morning about the raid:

I am disappointed (…) that the unions made this decision. It is not a last resort.

The strikers are united primarily by demanding an increase in their wages in line with inflation. Consumer prices have recently risen by a good ten percent. The government provides teachers with an additional five percent salary. Very little, the Near East University Teachers Union complained and asserted:

It is not about increasing salaries, it is about correcting historical reductions in real wages.

The industrial dispute for health workers has been going on for some time:

The controversial government project also arouses employee dissatisfaction. Sunak and his business minister Grant Shapps are tired of the industrial disputes that have persisted since last summer and want the right to strike restricted under the law. Sunak says this should guarantee basic services.

Shapps defended his draft as providing a fair balance between the right to strike and the needs of the population.

People do not have the freedom to choose when they need an ambulance or the fire department.

On Monday, the House of Commons, dominated by conservatives, approved the law on its third reading. But resistance is expected in the Senate. Labor deputy leader Angela Rayner describes the law as a “nurses' sack bill” – and it appears to strike a chord. In opinion polls, the majority supports the strikers. In the eyes of many, the government is to blame for the chaos.

Due to the high cost of living crisis, these strikes can no longer be portrayed as ideologically motivated…

…says James Frayne of consulting firm Public First. He explains in the online portal “Politico” that the government's noticeable stubbornness affects the numbers of opinion polls. Labor has clearly been in the lead for months and there is no sign of a turnaround yet. As of now, Conservatives have to fear disaster in the general election scheduled for 2024.

However, Sunak will not give up, his party colleagues say. “We have to keep our nerve,” Politico quoted a conservative member of parliament as saying. Inflation will fall further soon, which will ease pressure on consumers. “That's why we have to stay as tough as possible.”