UK: Wave of strikes sour Christmas mood, disrupt travel

Border control workers were the latest to join a group of public employees in the United Kingdom who have walked off their jobs this year, in an effort to enforce higher pay rises amid a once-in-a-generation cost-of-living crisis.

The UK government pumped in military personnel and civil employees to keep airports running on Friday, during one of their busiest times of the year.

The strike coincides with train strikes, as well as nurses, ambulances and paramedics strikes that have taken place or were planned for this week. More strikes are scheduled in the new year.

In neighboring France, a strike action among public workers has also soured the Christmas mood. Train strikes on Friday affected many French residents planning to visit their families for Christmas.

Why is the UK striking?

Economic stagnation caused by the coronavirus pandemic and ensuing lockdowns, closely followed by the economic aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has taken its toll on the global economy.

The UK has also been dealing with the exit from the European Union, which has also had an impact on the British economy.

Double-digit inflation, reaching almost 11%, has triggered a cost-of-living crisis, the first of its kind in decades.

Public sector workers have been trying to use strikes as a tool to pressure the Conservative government to give them pay increases that can address what they see as a the dire situation.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said the only way to improve economic conditions was by bringing down inflation.

In statements on Friday, Sunak was vocal about his rejection of the strike action.

"I am really sad, and I am disappointed about the disruption that is being caused to so many people's lives, particularly at Christmas time,'' he said during a visit to a homeless shelter in London.

Who is striking in the UK?

Border control employees are planning on extending their strikes until the end of the year, with a break only on December 27.

Mark Serwotka, the general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, told BBC radio that the strikes follow disputes over pensions and job security, in addition to cost-of-living struggles.

"Forty thousand of our members are using food banks, 45,000 of them are claiming in-work benefits. They are the in-work poor," he said.

They join thousands of National Health Service nurses who walked off their jobs on Tuesday for 24-hours. The strike was the second this month, in unprecedented action by nurses in some 100 years. Further strikes are planned for January 18 and 19.

Ambulance drivers, paramedics and dispatchers have also announced a strike for December 28, after walking off earlier this week. Other striking professions include post workers and highway maintenance workers.

Strikes are also expected to affect trains and buses on Saturday, Christmas Eve.

Strikes in France

Eastward, in France, the shaky global economy this year has also driven public workers to walk off their jobs.

The Christmas weekend could see nearly half of the country's train conductors striking. One third of scheduled train services were canceled on Friday, with 40% more canceled during the weekend, the national rail authority said.

Striking employees are demanding higher pay and more staff, as a similar cost-of-living crisis bites through the economy.

The strikes come as several residents of the UK and France looked forward to a more normal Christmas, after the pandemic disrupted the holiday season during the past two years.

rmt/jcg (AFP, AP, Reuters)