Walkout Wednesday: Public faced with the biggest day of strike action in a decade.

Video by Tighe Wylie-Freegard at a PCS rally on Buchannan Street

Thousands of fed-up workers across Scotland joined this week’s strike action, the biggest since 2011. February 1st, dubbed ‘Walkout Wednesday’, saw widespread disruption; schools across the UK closed their classrooms; airports saw significant disruptions; and many train services halted due to the strikes. Unions are increasing the pressure on the government in their demand for better pay amidst the cost-of-living crisis. 

People across the UK have seen months of disruption to daily services over pay disputes, and calls for better working conditions as the conversation between the government and unions continues. However, the government seems to be playing a cat-and-mouse game to prolong the conversation and hold off on paying more. Wednesday’s strikes marked an escalation in disruption across almost all major industries, and the last time the country saw a walkout on this scale was over a decade ago. In 2011 over a million public sector workers staged a one-day strike due to concerns over pensions. 

Despite some pay rises, including an offer of 5% proposed by the government to teachers, union leaders say the pay in the public service sector has majorly failed to keep in line with quickly soaring inflation. The failure of wages to keep pace with increasing costs means hundreds of thousands of workers have effectively taken major pay cuts during the country’s cost-of-living crisis. 

Alongside pay disputes, the UK government have also issued plans to limit the right to strike by introducing a new law. This will affect workers’ rights across several major sectors, including health and transport. Wednesday’s pay dispute strikes also coincided with the major protests by the Trade Union Congress (TUC) against the government’s anti-strike legislation. 

A Cabinet Office Spokesperson said: “The minister for the Cabinet Office, Jeremy Quin, met with representatives from civil service trade unions today to listen to and understand their concerns. This forms part of the government’s commitment to engaging with unions across the board. 

“The meeting included discussions to help ensure fair and affordable public sector pay settlements. We regret the PCS decision to call further strike action, but discussions will continue, and we have comprehensive plans in place to keep essential services running and to minimise disruption.”