Britain | Strike noise tests Britain: “They are trying to destroy us”

London

Strikes The fog will test Britain in December, and it is feared that labor disputes will reach the beginning of next year. A new winter of discontent has begun in Britain.

On Friday, Royal Mail employees went on strike. The industrial action will continue for part of next week and the days leading up to Christmas.

“It’s about the salary, but above all about the working conditions, which the employer is constantly trying to make worse,” a mail delivery man in East London Kevin Thomas told.

Thomas and thousands of other Royal Mail workers gathered for a demonstration on Friday in the square next to the British Houses of Parliament.

The strikers were dressed in their union’s pink vests.

Whistles sounded and flags flew. The chief executive of Royal Mail was called for to resign.

“The situation is from the devil himself”, East London postal worker Debbie Shore described the situation.

Shorea is also angered by the possible weakening of working conditions, such as cuts in vacation and sick days. It is said that new people are hired on even worse terms.

Next During the week, the stops also include part of the train traffic. However, the biggest upfront is the nurses’ industrial struggle.

Up to 100,000 nurses across England, Wales and Northern Ireland will go on strike on December 15 and 20.

“These strikes could be the start of a longer labor struggle if wage negotiations are not reached and if they do not produce a satisfactory result,” the nurses’ union announced during this week.

In Scotland, the nurses’ strike was called off when the Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon led by the Scottish government, yielded to wage negotiations.

Before Christmas, there will also be a strike by ambulance workers in a large part of England and Wales.

Christmas travel is also under threat. The border guards of at least six airports and some of the baggage handlers are going on strike.

The industrial action could cause chaos at London’s Heathrow and other airports, although army soldiers have already been called in to act as passport inspectors.

of The Times of information airlines have been advised to cancel up to 30 percent of their flights on strike days.

“I seriously urge those planning trips abroad to think again,” the British Home Secretary Suella Braverman said during this week.

Public and workers in the private sectors go on strike because they are unhappy with the wage increases they have been offered.

UK inflation is the Bank of England’s by already 11.1 percent. In terms of percentages, even a large salary increase is not enough to maintain the real income level.

More than 90 percent of the British adult population has noticed an increase in the cost of living compared to last year, the country’s National Statistics Office (ONS) told on Friday.

For example, Royal Mail employees were offered a salary increase of a couple of percent earlier this year. Since then, the offer increased to seven percent over two years, with a one-time bonus of a couple of percent added.

Even that does not satisfy the employees. In their opinion, the increases are not enough when the conditions are weakened.

“They are trying to destroy us”, dealing with the post office in the county of Hampshire Pat described the moods. He didn’t want to say his last name.

Royal Mail was founded more than 500 years ago. The company was privatized ten years ago. On its payroll is more than 150,000 employees.

The decrease in letter mail and the increase in parcel mail threatens to lengthen working hours and make the working day more evening-oriented. At the same time, mail delivery to households would start later than now.

“Now the working day starts at 7:30 in the morning. There will be a lot of support from people for us strikers,” a post deliverer in the county of Cambridgeshire Nancy Voak said in London’s Parliament Square.

Prime minister Rishi Sun too the government is working on laws that would make it more difficult to strike. However, they will not stop the December strike wave.

For example, it is under consideration to raise the various voting thresholds for member votes, based on which unions can decide on industrial disputes.

“If the ay leaders continue with their unreasonable demands, it is my duty to take action to protect the lives and livelihoods of British residents,” Sunak said in the House of Commons this week.

Strikes are prohibited for three trade unions: the army, police and prison guards.

In opposition the sitting Labor Party opposes tightening the right to strike. However, the Labor leadership tries to be careful in its choice of words, because there is not enough support from the voters for all the strikers.

Yougov survey company’s summer event the survey according to the British, there is the most understanding for the strikes of nurses, hospital doctors, firefighters and grocery store sellers.

Based on the list, you can find lawyers, government officials and university people.

Relatively little sympathy is also enough for railway workers. The reason may be that frequent train strikes make commuting difficult for many ordinary people.

Royal Mail according to the workers, the strike is not only about their own working conditions. It is said that the entire ancient national institution is at risk.

Delivered mail outside of London for 17 years Mark Newham says that he has become familiar with the residents of his distribution district and chats daily. Now they are reportedly hiring cheap temporary labor to replace Postinjakaji.

Will the strike help?

“It’s 50-50.”