LONDON, Dec 13 – Britain recorded the highest number of working days lost due to labor disputes in more than 10 years in October, official data showed on Tuesday, as workers demanded higher wages amid rising inflation. went on strike to do.
The information comes as more than 40,000 rail workers began their latest walkout on Tuesday in a long-running dispute over pay and conditions that will cause widespread disruption across the country’s transport network.
The Office for National Statistics said 417,000 working days were lost due to strikes in October, the highest figure since November 2011, compared to just under a million due to a series of public sector worker walkouts over pension reforms. a working day is lost.
More than 1.1 million working days were lost between June and October this year, the highest figure for a five-month period since the early 1990s, according to the ONS.
Workers in various industries left on strike In recent months, from railroad workers to teachers to postal workers to lawyers, inflation, which hit 11.1% in October, has squeezed household budgets.
Although some are smaller, mostly private sector disputes resolvedthe government has so far refused to pay public sector wages and is instead trying to tighten laws to make it harder for those in key sectors to strike.
The government has argued that wage increases are untenable and inflation-adjusted wage increases will exacerbate the problem.
“Any move that risks injecting higher prices into our economy will only prolong the pain for everyone and stunt long-term economic growth prospects,” said Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt.
The ONS data showed that, excluding bonuses, the private sector rose 6.9% year-on-year in the three months to October, compared with 2.7% in the public sector.
“They closed their books”
Strikes must be accepted Post almost every day in Decembernurses are set to leave On Thursday for the first time in the history of the union.
Pat Cullen, head of the Royal College of Nursing union, said after a meeting with the health minister on Monday that the government had refused to discuss pay.
“They closed their books and left,” he said.
More than 1 million work days will be lost in December, the union forecasts, making it the worst month for disruption since July 1989.
Polls show that while the majority of public nurses support a strike over pay, only a minority support the railway workers.
The RMT union, which represents 40,000 rail workers who walked out for eight days before and after Christmas, said 63.6 percent of its members who voted on Monday rejected the latest offer of 5% and 4% pay. rose over two years from Network Rail, which owns and maintains the train infrastructure.
“Public opinion is changing,” Transport Minister Mark Harper told ITV. “They want a fair and reasonable offer on the table to be accepted.”
Harper said rail reform was needed because 20 percent of commuters and 40 percent of commuters had not returned to the network since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Industry body UKHospitality has warned that rail strikes will have a major damaging impact on one of the busiest trading periods of the year, costing £1.5 billion in revenue as Christmas party bookings are cancelled.
Reporting by Kaylee McLellan, additional reporting by Andy Bruce and Sarah Young; Edited by Kate Holton and Alex Richardson
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