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"No Cuts" strike placard
Stock image. Kevin Wash
UK

Public sector strikes take place across UK over pay, pensions, and cuts

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Stock image. Kevin Wash

Over a million public sector workers are expected to join strikes across the UK today in a series of disputes with the government over pay, pensions, and “austerity” cuts.

Teachers, firefighters, librarians, and council staff from a number of trade unions are amongst those joining the industrial action. The unions involved include RMT, FBU, PCS, Unite, Unison, NUT, and GMB.

A spokesman for the cabinet office said a relatively low ballot turnout meant that the “vast majority” of workers did not vote for the strike action, but unions contend that those that did vote to strike was a higher percentage of their members than the Tories received for their “mandate” to govern as a coalition.

The most common grievance between those on strike is the government’s the real-terms loss in income public sector workers have felt since the government froze public sector wages in 2010, followed by a 1% pay rise cap in 2012, when overall inflation since 2010 amounts to over 13%.

Meanwhile, MPs are set to get a rise of £7,600 to £74,000 in 2015, and Nigel Farage has called for ministers to be paid as much as £100,000.

Picket lines are expected to be setup outside fire stations, council offices, and the Houses of Parliament.

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