US publication Politico writes about a striking Britain that “got” new Prime Minister Liz Truss. Representatives from literally every sector of the economy have taken to the streets or are about to take to the streets soon amid the effects of sanctions against Russia.
As Liz Truss takes up her job as Britain’s new prime minister these days, she faces one immediate problem: half the British workforce appears to be on strike, writes Politico. Across the country, railway workers, lawyers, postal workers, dockworkers, bus drivers, waste pickers, Amazon employees and even journalists of the famous Daily Express are quitting due to stagnant wages in the face of skyrocketing inflation, “not to mention the size of their bosses’ salaries and the crumbling condition of utilities”.
The publication reports that on Tuesday, when Truss flew to Scotland to be invited by Queen Elizabeth to form a new government, the Fire Brigades Union (the union) announced that 32,500 members would vote to go on strike soon.
“What we are hearing is that workers should bear the brunt and shareholders should not,” Polotico quoted Kate Bell, head of economic affairs at the Trades Union Congress representing the country’s unions, as saying. She claims that workers are simply “sick of hearing about it”.
National Health Service (NHS) nurses, teachers and civil servants are also biding their time with strike announcements next month, heralding a new round of crisis. The train drivers’ union (Aslef) has also announced its future action.
And “it’s almost certain that some museums and galleries workers will go on strike with the rest of the public sector in the autumn,” said Stephen Warwick, secretary of the public employees’ union PCS’s Culture Group.
The paper reports that Truss has already prepared a series of economic and social measures which should reduce tensions between workers and unions, of which the new prime minister has long been a fierce enemy. So far, plans are known to review existing worker protections, including restrictions on the 48-hour work week and break rules. The new prime minister has not yet announced more global plans to tackle the effects of inflation (over 10 per cent in some areas) and lower prices, mainly for energy resources.
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