Sunak refuses salary talks
British PM ‘sad’ at massive strikes
12/23/2022, 9:05 p.m
A steadily growing wave of strikes ruins Christmas for the British. Travelers in particular have to be prepared for disabilities. The unions are threatening to escalate. But Prime Minister Sunak makes it clear that the government will not back down.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is still unwilling to negotiate higher salaries despite major strikes in the public sector and other sectors. In an interview with television journalists, the conservative politician said he was “sad and disappointed” about the many strikes in the country. The refusal to go beyond the offer of salary increases already submitted by the government is “fair and reasonable”. Otherwise, you risk fueling inflation even further.
Great Britain is currently being gripped by an unprecedented wave of strikes. Employees of the Border Force authority responsible for passport control on entry stopped work in the morning at six airports in the country and at the Newhaven ferry port. Train services in Great Britain are almost paralyzed by strikes by railway workers from Christmas Eve until the end of the year. The postmen also went on strike.
Unions announce strikes after the New Year
Motorway maintenance workers continued a multi-day strike that began on Thursday. Previously, nurses and ambulance drivers had stopped work. In view of the high inflation and several years without salary increases, the employees are demanding significantly more money, but the government is stubborn and refuses to talk. The union announced that the members of the so-called Border Force had been offered a two percent increase in wages. This is well below the inflation rate of 10.7 percent recently.
Several unions have therefore already announced strikes after the New Year. The head of the PCS union (Public and Commercial Services Union) warned of an escalation in the new year. “I think what you’re going to see is a huge escalation of these strikes in public services and the rest of our economy if the government doesn’t come to the negotiating table,” Mark Serwotka told BBC 4 radio.