UK braces for mass strike action

London, Feb 1 (EFE).- The United Kingdom was on Wednesday gripped by a fresh round of mass strikes as an estimated half a million people, including teachers, university workers, civil servants and train drivers downed tools to demand better pay amid a cost of living crisis.

Wednesday’s industrial action was the largest yet in a series of strike days that have been called in recent months.

Prime minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party government acknowledged there would be disruption as members of seven unions voted to take part in coordinated strike action.

Thousands of schools were forced to close Wednesday due to staff shortages, forcing parents to take days off work or work from home.

Picket lines outside train stations, schools, universities and government departments have sprouted up since the morning.

The Trades Union Congress, a federation for trade unions in the UK, on Wednesday said 200,000 members had signed a letter calling on the government to scrap a controversial anti-strike law proposal that would force minimum services during strike action.EFE

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