Chinanews.com reported on February 2 that on February 1, local time, as many as 500,000 people in the UK went on strike due to wage issues, which paralyzed the transportation network and closed schools in many places.

According to Agence France-Presse, this is the largest strike held in the UK in about 10 years.

Image source: Screenshot of the report on the website of France 24

call for change

About 500,000 people go on strike

in the UK

  According to reports, about 500,000 people participated in the strike action.

Among them are as many as 300,000 teachers, 100,000 civil servants, and thousands of train drivers and border force staff.

  The strike has had a serious impact on education, commuting, etc., and the economic loss may be as high as 200 million pounds.

In addition, about 23,000 public schools are expected to be forced to close, leaving millions of students unable to attend classes.

  Thousands of educators marched through central London carrying placards such as "Children Deserve Better" and "Save Our Schools, Pay the Bills".

Rice, a 32-year-old elementary school teacher, said he hoped the scale of the march would send a strong message, "The government should be ashamed of the way they're managing it. It's clear that people are unhappy and a change needs to be made."

  Graham, a trade union representative who participated in the parade, said that in the face of the soaring cost of living, employees had no choice but to strike.

"Not only are wages not keeping up with inflation, car fares, council rates and rents are all going up. Even if we don't lose our jobs, we still have to go to food banks and get free food."

Image source: Screenshot of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) report

The British government may not budge

Labor anger will continue to burn?

  However, the UK government appears to have a different stance on wage demands.

Sunak's government has taken a tough stance on trade unions, arguing that giving in to demands for big wage increases would further exacerbate Britain's inflation problems, Reuters said.

  British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak condemned the strike that caused the suspension of students.

He said, "Our children's education is precious, and they should be educated in school today." British Education Secretary Keegan also said that she was "disappointed" by the departure of teachers.

  There are reports that authorities may now be considering taking a page from French law, which requires teachers to give 48 hours' notice when they plan to strike.

In addition, Sunak is likely to legislate against strikes, requiring key public sector personnel, such as medical care, firefighters, teachers, etc., to maintain basic services even if they go on strike, or they will be fired.

  According to the analysis, if the British government promotes the implementation of the "Anti-Strike Act" and the "Public Order Act" that expands the police's law enforcement powers, it is bound to ignite greater anger among workers, which may exacerbate social unrest in the UK.

  Over the past few months, affected by inflation, many industries in the UK have held strikes one after another.

The UK's Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) has warned of further coordinated strikes ahead.