Strikes continue in Britain to demand higher wages, as tonight tens of thousands of railway workers stop working across the country in conjunction with Christmas celebrations.

Train commuters have been warned of further unrest in this period, and the strikers say half of the railways will be closed and trains in most parts of Scotland and Wales will stop running.

The strike begins at 6 p.m. GMT on Christmas Eve and will last until 6 a.m. on Tuesday.

The Train Drivers Union (ASLEF) called for another strike on January 5, in conjunction with a strike by other sectors of the railway system.

Strikes continued in Britain in recent weeks, and included various sectors, from transport and airports to ambulance, nursing, postal and other services.

This wave is an extension of the strikes that the country witnessed last summer with the rise in inflation and the deterioration of living conditions due to the negative impact of Britain's exit from the European Union and the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic and the war between Russia and Ukraine.


military at airports

The British authorities used army forces to carry out the work of passport employees in 8 airports, in addition to other sectors witnessing strikes.

Hundreds of thousands of passengers on flights have been warned of possible disruptions in the coming days.

On the other hand, the nursing union announced a new strike on the 18th and 19th of next month, and the National Health Service Authority called on the Ministry of Health to enter into serious negotiations with the unions without delay.

This authority said that the nursing sector's announcement of two additional strike dates next month will increase the pressure on the already exhausted health services after the recent strikes carried out by the nursing and ambulance staff, and indicated that thousands of medical appointments have been rescheduled or canceled entirely due to the strikes.


Possible escalation

At the same time, union leaders have warned that these labor movements will escalate if wage offers do not improve.

"There will be a massive escalation in public sector strikes if wage offers do not improve," Mark Sirotka, general secretary of the Confederation of Public and Commercial Services, told the BBC.

He added, "We can continue with these strikes even after Christmas ... and it may also continue until next May, and we will support this measure if we have to."

For his part, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressed his dissatisfaction with what he described as the chaos caused by the current wave of strikes in the country, stressing that his "door is open for discussions" with the unions organizing the strikes.

Sunak added that the government had "acted fairly and sensibly" with regard to the public sector and that it always wanted to talk to people and engage them in dialogues to make sure their jobs were fulfilling and rewarding.

Sunak described the current situation as difficult, and said that the best thing that can be done in the interest of the country is to fight inflation, he said.