Written by Miguel Salas
This will be an eventful month in the UK. A strike wave not seen for many years will cover the whole country and mobilize many different sectors.
railway workers. 40,000 workers called strikes on the 13th, 14th, 16th and 17th.
National Health Service. Male and female nurses were called to strike on the 15th and 20th. Ambulance drivers joined about 15,000 workers. If extended to other professionals, doctors, midwives and physiotherapists, around 300,000 people could be mobilized. The state of the NHS (National Health Service) is catastrophic. It is estimated that there are about 7 million people on the waiting list. More than 100,000 jobs are waiting to be filled. In addition to salary increases, measures are required to improve the general nature of health.
Mail. On the 9th, 11th, 14th, 15th, 23rd and 24th, no letters or postal packages will be distributed. About 110,000 workers are called to strike. The historic Royal Mail was privatized in 2013 and since then the service has not stopped deteriorating, although shareholders continue to receive their handsome dividends.
Eurostar: The rail service connecting Great Britain with the continent will not operate on the 18th, 22nd and 23rd.
customs personnel. Eight days of strike over the Christmas holidays.
London buses went on strike on December 1 and 3 and are preparing for new strikes if their demands are not met.
There are also strikes in passport offices, in transportation, in security, in exchange offices, driver’s license examiners, firefighters… A wave of movements that would resemble a general strike if they coincided on dates. All of them are demanding salary increases approaching inflation.
There is no less. Inflation is 11%, the highest in 40 years, and food inflation is 16.4%, the highest level since 1977. Wages have been stagnant for some time and the situation in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods is alarming. The Pantry Project, a food bank, denounces that “there are people who gorge themselves on pet food or try to heat food on a cooler or with a candle.” Consumer advocacy organization ye? denounces that 9 out of 10 consumers are concerned about energy and food prices; 8 out of 10 is for fuel prices and 6 out of 10 for housing.
What is the Conservative government’s response? Recruitment of the military and specialized officials to act as strikebreakers in the sectors they call strategic, transport, ambulance or border, or even, if they deem it necessary, the militarization of some troubled sectors.
December is busy for the British working class. Announcing battles that can spread across Europe.
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