UK’s teachers and civil servants join mass strike

Up to half a million British teachers, civil servants, and train drivers yesterday walked out over pay in the largest co-ordinated strike action for a decade, with unions threatening more disruption as the government digs its heels in over pay demands.

The mass walkouts across the country shut schools, halted most rail services, and forced the military to be put on standby to help with border checks on a day dubbed “Walkout Wednesday”.

According to unions, as many as 300,000 teachers took part, the biggest group involved, as part of wider action by 500,000 people, the highest number since 2011, when civil servants walked out en masse.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak condemned the strikes which forced millions of children to miss school.

“I am clear that our children’s education is precious and they deserve to be in school today being taught,” he said.

His government has taken a hard line against the unions, arguing that giving in to demands for large wage hikes would further fuel Britain’s inflation problem.

Tens of thousands of education workers marched through central London with placards which read “Children Deserve better” and “Save our Schools, Pay Up”.

Taking part in the march, primary school teacher Hannah Rice, 32, said she hoped the scale of the action would send the government a strong message.

“This government should be ashamed of the way they are managing things,” she said. “It’s clear people are unhappy, it’s clear that there needs to be a change.”

The PCS Union, representing about 100,000 striking civil servants from more than 120 government departments, warned of further co-ordinated strikes.

“If the government doesn’t do something about it, I think we will see more days like today with more and more unions joining in,” PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said.