Wave of Strikes Across Britain Marks Pay-the-Rich Budget Day
At least 40,000 strikers march
through central London to a rally in Trafalgar Square on March 15, 2023.
Mass strike actions throughout Britain that gained momentum in February have continued into March, peaking around the day of the Spring Budget on March 15. An estimated 400,000 to half a million people across various sectors of the socialized economy struck work together on that day alone. The budget was notable in how it did nothing to meet the demands of the workers, their unions and all those who rely on services the workers provide. Mass strikes are likely to continue in April.
Teachers' Strike
Rally outside Liverpool's
Metropolitan Cathedral including junior doctors, teachers and civil
servants, March 15, 2023.
Over 100,000 teachers struck work March 15 and 16, continuing their biggest period of strike action in 30 years, affecting the vast majority of schools across the country. The National Education Union (NEU) is demanding a fully-funded pay increase due to rising inflation and 10 years' worth of real-term pay cuts. Since 2010, pay has fallen 23 per cent in real terms. The NEU informs that other issues that cause "disruption and long-term damage to education every day" include rising class sizes, support for special educational needs, recruitment and retention of staff, disrepair of facilities and excessive workload. Workers' Weekly explains, "The struggle for a properly funded and modern education system has been ongoing for many years, with teachers questioning the future of education that is being unsustainably underfunded and undermined. Their actions have exposed for all to see that the very future of education is at stake. Forms must be found to empower them to discuss and provide the solutions themselves."
The NEU points out that the Government of England is unsettled by the teachers' support for strike action, the influx of new members to the union and the degree of parental support, and has taken the "very new and unusual" step of demanding that the strikes be cancelled before it makes a first offer on pay and funding.
Workers' Weekly adds, "The crisis has developed to a point where the block to discussing the future of education must be overcome, with teachers themselves at the forefront of this discussion. It is noteworthy then that teachers have forced progress in Wales and Scotland, where such preconditions were not declared, serious offers have been made, and strike action has been postponed or ended."
University Staff Strike
Strike actions and protests across
York.
University staff went on strike from March 15 to 23, involving 70,000 staff at 150 universities across Britain, including academics, librarians, and other staff. While this completed the 18 days of planned action in February and March, the University and College Union (UCU) is seeking a mandate from its members to extend strike actions to the end of the academic year. The struggle has been marked by employers' imposition and refusal to negotiate, with UCU members rejecting the latest offer of around five per cent. The strike actions, which affect some 2.5 million students, have been backed by the National Union of Students.
University staff have experienced what amounts to 10 years of wage cuts due to inflation, an average of two days unpaid work per week, while a third of academic staff are on temporary contracts. University staff want wage increases that address the inflation crisis, an end to insecure contracts and that severe workloads be addressed. They also want cuts made to pensions and benefits restored. The pension cuts made last year will see the average member lose 35 per cent of their guaranteed future retirement income. For those early in their careers, the losses amount to hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Workers' Weekly highlights the important role played by university staff, saying, "Higher education workers add huge value to the economy, and contribute to culture and society by producing highly skilled graduates and postgraduates, and carry out research that leads to scientific and technological advances. Education is a right and should serve society. In struggling for their rights and claims, academics and higher education workers, as well as school teachers, are fighting for the rights of all."
Junior Doctors' Strike
Junior doctors' picket in Leeds.
Junior doctors in England held a virtually unprecedented 72-hour strike from March 13 to 15. The strike was mandated by a 98 per cent vote in favour of action with 77 per cent of junior doctors taking part. Junior doctors make up 45 per cent of the medical workforce and include recent graduates through to those with 10 years of experience. Nearly 50,000 doctors went on strike to demand a 35 per cent raise and pay restoration after real-terms cuts of 26 per cent since 2008 and measures to address overwork and retention issues. There have been no formal wage negotiations and the government has made it clear they are not willing to meet the junior doctors' demands.
Demonstration in Support of National Health Service
On March 11, thousands demonstrated through the streets of London to show their support for the National Health Service (NHS) and for health workers striking against the attacks on their livelihoods. Workers' Weekly reports, "The demonstration showed that the movement of health workers and the people as a whole is as strong as ever to turn the tables on the government and ruling elite. It is a movement of health workers and people in their communities to take over the decisions on protecting and developing the publicly owned health care system. With the continued strike struggles of nurses, ambulance staff and now junior doctors [...] the fight for change is now on."
Transport Workers' Strike
In the transport sector, London Underground drivers and staff , members of the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) and the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), struck on March 15 over job losses and changes to pensions contracts. Then on March 16 and 18, strikes were held by RMT members at 14 train companies around the country. Rail workers are demanding pay rises and are challenging so-called modernization plans, which involve cuts to scheduled maintenance tasks, ticket office closures, and thousands of jobs lost.
Civil Servants' Strike
Around 133,000 civil servants, members of the Public and Commercial Services Union, struck work on March 15 over low pay. The action affected 124 government departments and services, including the Cabinet Office, the Department for Education, the Home Office, the Department for Transport, the Department for Work and Pensions, National Highways, the UK Health Security Agency, the HMRC, the DVLA, and the Border Force, seriously disrupting arrivals at air and sea ports.
Media Workers' Strike
Media workers held a 24-hour strike at various BBC Local studios and offices from March 15 to 16.
"The BBC must recognize the damaging impact of recent decisions and engage fully with the union, to reach a solution in the dispute over cuts to local radio," the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) said in a statement. The action "is about the future of quality local news in the many diverse communities the BBC serves. Plans to axe radio shows and reduce resources have caused dismay and anger amongst NUJ members who know the true value of trusted local news."
The NUJ added: "The BBC's much-vaunted Digital First strategy should not be implemented at the expense of news and content that is genuinely local and accessible. At the heart of these plans, there is a funding issue created by the government's decision to freeze the licence fee, but it also lays bare a deeper question of what the BBC's role and purpose is in a digital age. At a time of polarized debate, where high levels of distrust are cynically whipped up in echo chambers amplified by algorithms, a public service broadcaster like the BBC should be prized and protected, not hollowed out or left vulnerable to the whims of any government of the day," said the union.
Other industrial action coinciding with the budget included a week-long strike by Amazon workers in Coventry.
(Workers' Weekly)
This article was published in
Number 19 - April 7, 2023
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2023/Articles/WO10193.HTM
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