Hundreds of thousands of workers on strike in a huge day of action in the UK

LONDON, 1 Feb. (DPA/EP) –

Hundreds of thousands of workers, including school teachers, will go on strike in Britain on Wednesday in what will be the biggest day of union action in a decade.

Teachers in England and Wales, affiliated with the National Education Union (NEU), will start their first day of strike on Wednesday, which threatens to disrupt activity in more than 23,000 schools.

NEU has estimated that around 85 per cent of schools in England and Wales will remain fully or partially closed, the DPA reports.

The stoppages, in which more than 100,000 teachers could participate in a wage dispute, coincide with strikes by university professors, train drivers, civil servants, bus drivers and security guards.

Rail commuters also face another day of travel disruption as train drivers strike once again in a long-running dispute over wages, jobs and conditions.

Protests are set to take place across the country against the UK government’s controversial plans to enact a new law on minimum service levels during strikes.

For its part, Rishi Sunak’s government has admitted that the massive strike will be “very difficult” for citizens, expressing itself “disappointed” that school principals do not know with certainty how many teachers will be available.

British ministers have insisted that raising wages to the level demanded by the unions would boost inflation, while their main priority is to reduce this level in the coming weeks.

The UK has recently been hit by a wave of strikes and stoppages due to the current economic crisis. In addition, there have also been protests involving airport workers, railway companies, lawyers and postmen, among others.