LONDON, 2/2/17 — In the most significant strike in more than ten years, 500,000 workers in Britain stopped working on Wednesday over pay, paralysing the transportation system and leaving thousands of classrooms empty.

The Trades Union Congress (TUC), the umbrella labour organisation in Britain, referred to it as the “largest day of industrial action since 2011” as Europe struggles with a cost-of-living crisis. Rishi Sunak, the prime minister of the UK, has urged pay increases to be “fair” and “affordable,” stating that significant pay increases would undermine efforts to control inflation.

Unions claim that wealthy Sunak needs to be more in touch with the struggles that regular workers confront as they try to make ends meet in the face of poor pay, unstable employment, and rising costs.

The most recent organisations to take action included Border Force employees at UK air and seaports, teachers, and train drivers.

The NEU teaching union estimated that walkouts affected 85% of the schools in England and Wales, demonstrating the industry’s “depth of indignation”. Nigel Adams, a 57-year-old London teacher marching through central London with tens of thousands of other educators, said, “The workload is always becoming more and growing, and with the inflation, our salary is getting lower and lower.”

“We’re worn out. As demonstrators held up signs saying “Pay Up” and “We can’t put kids first if you put teachers last,” he continued, “We’re paying the price, and so are the kids.”

Slap in the face

Thousands of workers in Britain have been on strike for months, including postal workers, attorneys, nurses, and workers in the retail industry, as UK inflation soared past 11%, the highest level in more than 40 years. Graham, a union representative and worker at a job centre, stated that given the rising prices, workers had no choice but to go on strike. Even when they are employed, some of our members still need to frequent food banks, he said.

The capital’s train stations were shut down or virtually empty.

One train driver at the now-closed London Bridge Station, a busy commuter centre, identified himself as Tony and said he was 61. He claimed the pay increases offered were insulting, especially in the wake of the pandemic.

“We worked nonstop during Covid. We were being hailed as important employees, and then this happens,” he stated. “I was leaving for work at three in the morning. Barbeques were going on, and you could hear the bottles. We ought to receive pay increases that maintain pace with inflation.”

“Every worker needs a pay raise and a fair contract, and we are demanding change.” said combative RMT union leader Mick Lynch addressing teachers marching across London to parliament. Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, the NEU teaching union’s joint leaders, warned that additional strikes would affect schools unless the government made “real and significant solutions.”

The “greatest risk” is inflation.

However, regarding salary expectations, both government and corporate leaders are steadfast. Gillian Keegan, the minister of education, expressed disappointment at the teachers’ strike on Times Radio. The biggest trade union in the civil service, PCS, led by Mark Serwotka, criticised the government’s stance as “unsustainable.” “Since there are now 500,000 people participating in industrial action, it is unrealistic for them to continue to do nothing,” he said.

He said, “We have paramedics next week, and we have nurses, and then will be the firefighters,” announcing that unions would be ready to go on strike all summer. When asked what Prime Minister Sunak was doing to end the strikes, his official spokesman responded that inflation still posed the “greatest risk” to paychecks and that the government was prepared to have additional negotiations with the unions to prevent further strike action. But he added that ministers had to strike a compromise between union demands and the need to restrain inflation and treat all taxpayers equally.

Nationwide protests

According to the Office for National Statistics‘ most recent data, strikes cost businesses 1.6 million working days between June and November last year, the biggest six-month total in over three decades (ONS). The ONS said walkouts cost employers 467,000 working days in November alone, the most since 2011. Along with the strikes, unions organised national protests against the Conservative government’s intentions to pass legislation outlawing strike activity in the public sector.