Paramedics and staff at around 150 universities across the UK went on strike again on Friday to demand pay rises in the face of double-digit inflation.
The week started with a black day for the NHS, the British public health service: Monday was the biggest strike day in its history, nurses and paramedics having walked off together.
Nearly 50,000 appointments had to be postponed on Monday and Tuesday due to these strikes in England, according to the NHS.
Strikes in multiple sectors, from the post office to transport, including teachers, health and firefighters, have affected the United Kingdom for months.
Around 15,000 paramedics, members of the Unison union in five regions of England, again went out of work on Friday and there are no signs of a resolution to the dispute. The union even threatens to further increase the movement.
“By failing to negotiate, the government is condemning the public to months of unnecessary disruption,” said Sara Gorton, Unison’s health officer, on Friday.
University staff were on strike Thursday and Friday. About 150 universities in the country are concerned.
Faced with the strikers, the government insists that wage increases could aggravate inflation.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said on Friday the government would not agree to fund big pay rises with “inflationary” borrowing. “We should heed the very clear warning from the Governor of the Bank of England, who said that if you fund increases with borrowing, that’s inflationary, and that’s why it’s a very difficult situation,” he said. he declared.
The United Kingdom is facing a serious cost of living crisis with inflation remaining above 10%, particularly marked in energy and food.
The demands are favored by an unemployment rate which remains extremely low at 3.7% at the end of November.
According to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Friday, the UK narrowly avoided recession in 2022, but forecasters anticipate it for this year.