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UK Union of 1.4 m state workers stages strike
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UK Union of 1.4 m state workers stages strike
UK government workers represented by Unison staged what may be the nation?s biggest strike in 80 years, protesting Prime Minister Tony Blair?s plan to increase their retirement age. The union that represents 1.4 million workers said teaching assistants, trash collectors and clerks working for local authorities refused to work Tuesday throughout Britain after the government said it will boost their retirement age to 65 from 60. Last year, Blair pulled back from similar plans for central government employees.
Unison said it hopes the work stoppage is the biggest since 1926, when workers across the nation downed tools in support of coal miners attempting to maintain their wages. That effort crumbled after six months, failing to force Conservative Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin to shift his policies.
Tuesday?s strike slowed transport across the country, causing the shutdown of Mersey Ferries, which links the city of Liverpool with the Merseyside region; the Thames Barrier, which controls water levels in the river that runs through London, and the Tower of London, where Britain?s crown jewels are kept on display for tourists, Unison said. More than 650 schools are closed in the north of the country, the union said.
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