Britain has been rocked by the biggest wave of industrial action in a generation, with nurses and midwives leading the way.
Over 500,000 workers took part in industrial action in Britain on 1 February.
Teachers, ambulance staff and public servants, train drivers, the Royal Mail, university staff, and officials at border posts followed the lead of nurses and midwives, who had struck several times in the previous months and continued to do so through February.
On 6 February, nurses, midwives and ambulance staff stopped work simultaneously, with hundreds of thousands of nurses striking in what is believed to be the biggest strike in the NHS’s history.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay, who had called on unions to call off the strikes, had not held talks with the health unions in the month prior to the strike and had made no attempt to restart negotiations, according to The Guardian.
Polls suggested that nurses and public servants received widespread public support for their strike action despite any inconveniences.
“There is a bedrock of public recognition that people who provide essential services do so from vocation, not to get rich. They expect remuneration and working conditions that are adequate, and that allow them to do the job safely,” editorialised The Guardian.
After visiting picket lines around London and addressing a rally, Mark Serwotka, General Secretary of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS), described striking members as “very young, very vibrant, very diverse. Lots of first-time strikers, and a real sense from many of them that they felt quite empowered”.
‘There is a bedrock of public recognition that people who provide essential services do so from vocation, not to get rich.’