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Teachers, junior doctors and Tube staff hold strikes on Budget day

By Nagasunder in UK Employment news, posted March 15, 2023

Hundreds of thousands of workers are holding strikes to coincide with the Chancellor's Spring Budget.

It is thought the strikes on Wednesday, March 15, could be the biggest walkout since the current wave of industrial action began.

Picket lines will be set up across the country to coincide with the chancellor's budget, as teachers, university lecturers, civil servants, junior doctors, London Underground drivers, and BBC journalists remain dissatisfied with issues such as pay, jobs, pensions, and working conditions.

Commuters in London have been told that there will be "little or no service" on the Tube due to a strike by members of Aslef and the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) unions.

The British Medical Association's junior doctors will also continue their three-day walkout over pay, which began on Monday.

And members of the National Union of Journalists working at BBC Local across England will go on strike for 24 hours, due to a dispute over programme cuts.

Public and Commercial Services union General Secretary Mark Serwotka warned the action is just the start of a series of strikes that could last until the end of the year.

He said: "On budget day we're asking Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to give our hard-working members a fair pay rise,"

"We've been given a 2 percent pay rise when food inflation was 16 percent last week.

"40,000 civil servants use food banks and 45,000 claim in-work benefits because they're so poor.

"The government can stop these strikes today by putting money on the table for our members."

"Shamefully, ministers don't seem interested in giving their own employees a fair pay rise to help them through the cost-of-living crisis and beyond."

Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, joint general secretaries of the National Education Union, said: "We do not want to go on strike - we want to be in the classroom, teaching and supporting children and young people.

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"It continues to be a regret that our members have to take strike action, but we know that parents and the public understand the gravity of the situation around school funding and teacher recruitment and retention."

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said in an open letter to parents: "This industrial action will mean more disruption to children's education and to your lives too - whether that's work, arranging childcare or changing other plans.

"I am extremely disappointed that many young people will once again miss invaluable time learning with their teachers and friends, particularly after their education was significantly disrupted during the pandemic."

Source: Sky News