In the grip of an economic crisis fueled by inflation, the United Kingdom is preparing for another day of massive strikes, perhaps the most important for a decade, according to the trade union federation TUC.
Up to half a million people could strike on the eve of the symbolic date marking the first hundred days of the conservative government of Rishi Sunak.
The disruptions will be very strong in transport and schools. But by domino effect, the whole economy will be affected. Even non-strikers, many people will be forced to stay at home to look after their children or because they are unable to get to their place of work.
An anticipated strike by the British
Many Britons anticipated this move. According to testimonies collected by AFP at Farrington station in central London, part of the population has decided to work from home, or even take a day off. Katie Webb, 23, who works for a charity, will telecommute after rearranging her calendar and moving an appointment. “I support the strikes, the rail workers deserve better pay,” she said, judging the disruptions she is undergoing minor compared to the stakes.
Same tone for Sebastian Webb, a 48-year-old project manager, who has seen his personal life suffer in recent months due to countless train cancellations, with the strike adding to chronic problems at Britain’s railways. “I have canceled an appointment tomorrow,” he explained, adding: “I will be sticking to Cambridge, where I live, while a lot of my clients are in London or Peterborough. »
The same goes for travelers transiting through UK airports. They also risk seeing their movements disrupted by a strike by employees of the immigration services.
Upgrades requested from teachers
The other axis of mobilization concerns the school. Some 23,000 schools are expected to experience disruption on a first in seven days of walkouts planned by the NEU teachers’ union. “The government refuses to discuss the causes of the strike”, denounced the secretaries of the NEU, Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney.
According to them, the lack of salary increases leads to problems in recruiting and retaining staff, which “disrupts the education of children every day”. Strikers across sectors are demanding wages in line with inflation, which is hitting 10.5% in the UK and eating away at disposable incomes, pushing millions of Britons into poverty.
A difficult equation for the government to solve
Faced with this mobilization, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak seems rather helpless. “I really would like nothing more than to have a magic wand and pay you all more,” he said during a visit to health sector workers, who plan to continue their actions in the coming months. days.
Like many governments, the British government has to deal with soaring inflation. However, an increase in wages would ultimately have negative effects by further boosting the rise in prices while degrading public finances already damaged by Brexit, the pandemic or even today with the slowdown in growth with the war in Ukraine. .
According to the latest IMF forecasts, the United Kingdom will be the only major economy to suffer a recession this year, with a contraction of 0.6% of its GDP.