London strikes latest: Teachers and train drivers join biggest walkout in a decade

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  • February 1, 2023
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ritain is facing strike chaos on Wednesday as up to half-a-million civil servants, teachers and train drivers walk out simultaneously in the most significant day of industrial action in a decade.

Downing Street warned the public that the coordinated strikes would cause “significant disruption” as around half a million workers across the public sector stage a walkout over pay, jobs and conditions.

The National Education Union (NEU) expects around 23,000 schools to be affected by strike action across England and Wales, with up to 200,000 members taking to the picket line.

Some 150 universities will also be affected by strike disruption on Wednesday as lecturers and librarians belonging to the UCU union join the walkout.

Up to 100,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) are set to strike across government departments, Border Force, museums and other government agencies.

Meanwhile, train driver members of Aslef and the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union will walk out on Wednesday in a long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.

Industrial action will affect the 14 biggest rail operators in the UK, with most services grinding to a halt.

Live updates

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Who is striking today?

Teachers, university lecturers, train drivers, civil servants, bus drivers and security guards in seven trade unions will stop work today, on what has been dubbed ‘walkout Wednesday’.

In total hundreds of thousands of workers are going on coordinated strike in separate disputes over pay, jobs and conditions.

For a full wrap of who is striking, why, and how it is likely to affect you, click here.

Union signs during a strike march

/ PA Archive

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Pictured: PCS members strike in Westminster

Members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) have mounted picket lines outside government offices in central London.

Members of the PCS union on the picket line outside the office of HM Treasury, in Westminster

/ PA

Photos show members holding placards outside departments in Westminster including the Cabinet Office; the Treasury; the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport; and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Around 100,000 PCS members are expected to strike today in a long-running dispute, over pay, jobs and conditions – with those taking part working for government departments, Border Force, museums and other government agencies.

The PCS is seeking a pay rise of 10% after the government paid 2%, which the union complained was well below the soaring rate of inflation.

The union also fears huge job losses and cuts to redundancy terms for those affected.

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Majority of schools expected to open, says Education Sec

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has said she expects most schools will open today despite around 200,000 teachers from 23,000 schools expected to strike.

“We did do a survey and we have rung round a lot of schools as well and that told us told us that the majority of schools will be open but some will have restrictions for different cohorts,” she told BBC Breakfast.

Ms Keegan said the the country could not afford above-inflation pay awards.

“What is not realistic is for us to be looking at inflation or inflation-busting pay rises. We cannot risk fuelling inflation with inflation-busting pay rises. We have to look after everybody in the economy,” she said.

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Heathrow ‘fully operational’ despite Border Force walkout

Heathrow Airport said it is operating as normal with minimal queuing in immigration halls despite today’s strike by Border Force workers.

A spokesperon for the airport said: “Heathrow is fully operational, passengers are flowing through the border smoothly with Border Force and the military contingency providing a good level of service for arriving passengers.

“We are working to support Border Force’s plans to continue the smooth operation of the airport during this period of industrial action.”

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Education Secretary ‘disappointed’ teaching strike going ahead

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has said she “disappointed” that teachers in England and Wales are striking today.

She told Times Radio she believed industrial action was unnecessary as discussions with the unions were continuing.

“I am disappointed that it has come to this, that the unions have made this decision,” she said. “It is not a last resort. We are still in discussions. Obviously there is a lot of strike action today but this strike did not need to go ahead.”

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan

/ PA Wire

Ms Keegan said she did not know how many schools would be forced to closed due to the industrial action.

“We are hoping as many schools as possible stay open. We know that head teachers and other school leaders have been working really hard to keep schools open for as many kids as possible,” she said.

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Public services in ‘crisis’ due to ‘years of underinvestment’ – TUC

Public services are in “crisis” because of “years of underinvestment and a shortage of staff”, the general secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) said this morning.

“The decision to take strike action has been made by hundreds of thousands of workers who are just literally at the end of their tethers,” Paul Nowak told BBC Breakfast.

“We’ve got staffing crises right across our public services.

“The experience of anybody who’s used our hospitals, our schools, tried to take a train in this country is that those servrices are in chaos – they’re in crisis – not because of industrial actions, but because of years of underinvestment and a shortage of staff.

“So Government has to take some action and responsibility and I would urge the prime minister and the chancellor to get round the table and talk sensibly about improving the pay of public servants.”

The Trades Union Congress is a federation representing the majority of trade unions across England and Wales.

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University lecturer says strikes are ‘for the students’ in face of ‘breaking system’

A university lecturer has said she is striking today “for the students” in the face of a “system that is breaking”.

Tens of thousands of members of the University and College Union (UCU) are among workers joining today’s widespread action – walking out over pay, working conditions and pensions cuts.

Anita Naoko Pilgrim, a UCU officer for the Open University where she lectures, said higher education in the UK is being “significantly degraded” by issues such as work conditions and pay, adding that disruption to classes will ultimately benefit students.

“We are on strike for the students, we’re on strike because the system is breaking – their learning is being disrupted, but not by us,” said the 59-year-old, from Cardiff.

Dr Anita Naoko Pilgrim works as a lecturer for the Open University

/ Anita Naoko Pilgrim/PA Wire

“It’s being disrupted because of the broken system that is farming out their teaching and marking to poorly-paid people.

“I tell my daughter ‘don’t become an academic’, and we’re pleased she has chosen a different career pathway because we’re exhausted and 60-hour weeks are very common…I just can’t go on like it really.

“Higher education in the whole of the UK is being significantly degraded… we used to be top of the tree.”

Dr Pilgrim said the striking would stop with a “proper pay offer on the table”.

“We are absolutely fed up, we’re out there on the pickets and we’re not going anywhere until we get this sorted,” she said.

Read more here.

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Border Force staff pictured beginning their walkout

It may not yet be 7am, but Border Force staff in Hull have already taken to the picket line.

They are among an estimated 100,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) set to strike across more than 120 government departments and bodies today.

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NEU targeted by hackers

The National Education Union’s (NEU) has been targeted by hackers this morning.

Up to 200,000 NEU members from around 23,000 schools across England and Wales are expected to take to the picket line on what it describes as an “historic day”.

But the union issued an alert around 6.40am saying: “We are sorry to say that we are being targeted by criminals again. We have alerted our security team please do not click on links that are not official NEU websites.”

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‘Walkout Wednesday’ begins

Good morning, and welcome to the Standard’s live blog.

Today we’ll be bringing you everything you need to know as train drivers, lecturers, around 200,000 teachers, and around 100,000 civil servants walk out simultaneously in the biggest day of industrial action the UK has seen in a decade.

Follow along for all the latest updates.