Strikes hit services as millions heed unions' call to fight pension cuts

The UK is expected to experience the worst disruption to services in decades as more than 2 million public sector workers stage a nationwide strike, closing schools and bringing councils and hospitals to a virtual standstill.

The strike by more than 30 unions over cuts to public sector pensions started at midnight, leading to the closure of most state schools; cancellation of refuse collections; the postponement of thousands of non-emergency hospital operations; and the prospect of delays at airports and ferry terminals. The TUC said it was the biggest stoppage in more than 30 years and was comparable to the last mass strike by 1.5 million workers in 1979. Hundreds of marches and rallies are due to take place in cities and towns across the country.

The day of action takes place the day after the chancellor, George Osborne, fuelled anger by announcing a fresh wave of pay restraint for public sector workers to help fund economic growth plans and signalling plans to end national pay bargaining within two years.

Osborne denied he was picking a fight with public sector workers."I'm not picking a fight with anyone," he told BBC Breakfast. "I'm trying to deal with this country's debts that were racked up in the good years and, unfortunately, now we are in the difficult years, we are having to pay them off."Osborne warned that the strike over pensions would not "achieve or change" anything, and would serve only to make Britain's economy weaker.

He reiterated the government's position that the pension offer on the table was "a very generous deal"."The strike is not going to achieve anything; it's not going to change anything. It is only going to make our economy weaker and potentially cost jobs," he said."So let's get back round the negotiating table. Let's get a pension deal that is fair to the public sector, that gives decent pensions for many, many decades to come but which this county can also afford and our taxpayers can afford. That is what we should be doing today, not seeing these strikes."

Pickets began to form before dawn at many hospitals, ports and colleges, at Whitehall departments and outside the gates of the House of Commons, which means cabinet ministers going into work will come face to face with staff angered by the pension changes.

The TUC said the strike would also include tens of thousands of border agency staff, probation officers, radiographers, librarians, job centre staff, courts staff, social workers, refuse collectors, midwives, road sweepers, cleaners, school meals staff, paramedics, tax inspectors, customs officers, passport office staff, police civilian staff, driving test examiners, patent officers, and health and safety inspectors. Francis Maude, the minister for the Cabinet Office, appealed to public sector workers to go to work as normal as he gave an update of the expected level of disruption to services.

Maude said the government expected around three-quarters of schools in England to be closed or partially closed during the day of union action. Council services such as refuse collection, street cleaning and libraries were also likely to be affected, he said, and passengers "may face longer than normal waiting times at airports and ports". But he said "robust contingency plans" were in place. "Overnight the borders have been managed without any major problems, and are currently operating normally. There have already been several seizures this morning: for example, 1.5kg of cocaine seized at Stansted."

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 926