30 November 2011
London — Public sector workers are staging a strike over pensions in what is set to be the biggest walkout for a generation.
Schools, hospitals, airports, ports and government offices will be among sites disrupted, as more than 1,000 demonstrations are due across the UK.
The chancellor urged more talks, saying strikes would not achieve anything.
Unions object to government plans to make their members pay more and work longer to earn their pensions.
The strike is having the following effects:
Unions say up to two million public sector workers are to take part in the strike.
Speaking from Brussels, Chancellor George Osborne told BBC Breakfast: “The strike is not going to achieve anything, it’s not going to change anything. It is only going to make our economy weaker and potentially cost jobs.
Labour leader Ed Miliband said he had “huge sympathy” for people whose lives are disrupted by the strike.
On Tuesday night, shadow chief secretary of the treasury, Rachel Reeves, told BBC’s Newsnight that Labour did not support the industrial action.
Earlier on Tuesday, union leaders reacted angrily to Mr Osborne’s Autumn Statement announcements of a public sector pay cap of 1% for two years, as well as bringing forward to 2026 the rise in the state pension age to 67.
Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC, said the public sector was “under attack” by the government, adding that the action was justified.
Paul Noon, leader of civil service union Prospect, said members felt the chancellor was “aiming yet another punch at them”.
The 24-hour strike is expected to disrupt courts, job centres, driving tests and council services, such as libraries, community centres and refuse collections. Highways Agency staff will be on strike, as will many Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs).
Education Secretary Michael Gove has said it is “unfair and unrealistic” to expect taxpayers to foot the growing public sector pensions bill.
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Angola: Public Sector Strike Set to Be Largest for a Generation