Winter of discontent: Why Britain is facing the worst strikes since 1970
Country could face additional strikes by workers over a salary dispute after talks between ministers and trade unions failed to put a halt to a wave of work stoppages.
Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, withholding labour by workers has been a means of bargaining for better pay and working condition.
The UK is witnessing the worst wave of industrial action in years as thousands of workers skipped work amid a cost-of-living crisis and the failure of the state to address their demand for a pay rise in line with inflation, which hit double digits and is the highest in around 40 years.
Unions have said they will call off the strikes in the next few weeks only if offers are made to resolve the disputes over this year’s pay settlement, while the government wants to focus on pay rises for the next financial year.
The government has argued that inflation-matching pay rises will only fuel further price increases and cause interest rates and mortgage payments to go up further.
On Monday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, on a visit to a healthcare centre, told reporters the government was happy to discuss pay demands that were “anchored in what's reasonable, what's responsible, and what's affordable for the country”.
A meeting between Health Secretary Steve Barclay and healthcare unions resulted in rather minor progress and no breakthrough. Other ministers will hold talks with railway unions who have been on strike for months and teaching unions considering classroom walkouts.
Disregarding calls of workers?
Wide swaths of the public sector's workforce are openly revolting against the Conservative Party's 12-year "austerity budgets" and the consequent rise in living expenses in 2022.
Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, withholding labour has always been a means of bargaining for better pay and condition by workers.
With pay rises failing to keep up with double-digit inflation – at its highest level in 40 years – nurses, ambulance staff, and rail workers are among those who have staged walkouts, with teachers also being balloted over action.
The inflation in the United Kingdom slightly slowed to 10.7 percent annually in November from a 41-year high of 11.1 percent in October.
READ MORE: Thousands of workers halt UK railways as summer of strikes continue
Throughout the summer and into the holiday season, train strikes put British tourists' vacation plans in jeopardy.
Network Rail had offered its workers a five percent pay rise for this year, which was rejected by members of the RMT union, translating into further strikes.
Additionally, Royal Mail employees have been preventing mail from getting to letterboxes, and teachers in Britain are reportedly one step closer to going on strike after rejecting a five percent pay increase, which they claim to be below the inflation rate.
Healthcare strike
The nurses' strike has been the most concerning for the public and government. Thousands of nurses in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland restricted their activity twice, on the 15th and 20th of December.
On Wednesday, more than 10,000 ambulance workers are also set to walk out, after union talks with health minister Steve Barclay failed to produce a breakthrough.
According to a YouGov poll released on Tuesday, 63 percent of Britons support ambulance workers' strike action, while two third of Britons support the nurses' strike. Most respondents to the survey said that the government was mostly to blame for the strikes.
The National Health Service, which is supported by the government and is already under pressure from staff shortages and record backlogs brought on by Covid delays, is now under even more pressure as a result of these strikes.
British people are trying not to get ill because the average waiting time to see a specialist is almost 14 weeks, with more than 7 million people in line to get medical treatment.
Who is striking when?
After rejecting a pay deal that would have seen the average salary rise by 7.5 percent, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) announced new strike dates for January 18 and 19.
The union is demanding a 19 percent wage raise, which would represent a 5 percent increase over the 14 percent inflation rate, as calculated by the retail price index for October. Also adding that the government must address a record number of staff vacancies, as they are endangering patient safety.
On January 11 and 23, some ambulance workers in England will organise two additional strikes. According to Unison, the affected regions include London, Yorkshire, the North West, North East, and South West.
A teachers' strike are also expected in Scotland on 10 and 11 of January after a 6.85 percent increase for the lowest paid was rejected, with teachers arguing for 10 percent.
This wave of widespread industrial unrest is the hardest to hit the nation, since its historic "winter of discontent" in the late 1970s, when large numbers of workers—from truck drivers to gravediggers—went on strike.
The disruption resulted in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak issuing a warning that “tough” new laws restricting strike action are on their way.
READ MORE: Ambulance workers join UK strikes as health system crisis worsen
Wide swaths of the public sector's workforce are openly revolting against the Conservative Party's 12-year "austerity budgets" and the consequent rise in living expenses in 2022.
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