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Dhaka     Friday   29 March 2024

Britain hit by biggest strike in more than a decade

News Desk || risingbd.com

Published: 11:43, 2 February 2023   Update: 11:47, 2 February 2023
Britain hit by biggest strike in more than a decade

Britain has been hit by the biggest strike in more than a decade with schools shut and rail networks disrupted.

As many as half a million workers are striking across Britain on Wednesday, closing schools, canceling university lectures and bringing most of the rail network to a standstill.

Teachers, university staff, train drivers and civil servants — including staff checking passports at airports — are striking in large numbers over pay and working conditions as living standards continue to plunge after years of below-inflation raises.

They have walked off their jobs to demand better pay and working conditions in the largest coordinated strike action in a generation as wages fail to keep pace with soaring inflation.  Many say it is the biggest single day of walkouts in more than a decade.

Learning and working from home reminiscent of COVID-19 lockdowns returned to many households as school gates were closed and most trains were halted.

According to a YouGov poll late last year, 59 percent of respondents were in favour of the education sector striking.

The National Education Union said about 23,000 schools will be affected on Wednesday with an estimated 85 percent fully or partially closed.

Dhaka/Mukul