UK to be rocked by mass day of strikes as hundreds of thousands to take part
THE UK is to be rocked by industrial action on Wednesday in what has been billed as one of the biggest mass strikes in decades.
Thousands of workers in Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales will withdraw their labour in an attempt to improve pay and working conditions.
Those involved include teachers, rail workers, university staff and civil servants, among many others.
The industrial action will coincide with UK-wide “right to strike” rallies in response to the UK Government’s anti-strike bill.
READ MORE: Labour's education secretary repeatedly refuses to say if she backs teacher strikes
In Glasgow, the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) will hold a rally demanding an end to the Conservatives’ Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill. SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn was announced last week as a speaker for the event.
Dundee, Edinburgh and dozens of areas in England and Wales will also host similar demonstrations.
The National will be covering both the strikes and the protests on Wednesday from Glasgow, with Facebook lives, interviews and recaps going live across our website and social media.
📢Protect the right to strike📢
The right to strike is a fundamental British liberty – but the government is attacking it in broad daylight.
Join the @ScottishTUC and @The_TUC on the 1st of February as we fight back.
Find out more here: https://t.co/Mt3uvF5EoK pic.twitter.com/BLvLVSPDyY— STUC (@ScottishTUC) January 19, 2023
We will also attend the STUC rally to speak to union leader Roz Foyer as well as politicians and protesters.
Strikes are set to continue throughout the week, with more Scottish teachers to continue industrial action until February 6.
Meanwhile in England, train drivers, bus drivers, nurses, midwives and ambulance drivers will join the university staff, paramedics and more striking throughout February.
Who is striking on February 1?
There are hundreds of thousands of workers across several industries striking on Wednesday. Here are a few of the main ones.
Rail Workers
RMT and Aslef strikes will see workers walk out across 17 train companies, including Avanti West Coast. ScotRail will not be a part of these strikes and has said services will not be affected.
Civil Servants
Civil servants are also taking part in strikes, with 100,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services Union across 123 employers taking part in the industrial action. This will impact Government ministries, museums, driving test centres, ports and airports.
Teachers
As part of their rolling 16-day strike programme, teachers in Aberdeen and Clackmannanshire will walk out on Wednesday.
University staff
University staff are also impacted, with more than 70,000 workers across 150 universities striking on Wednesday.
Security guards, bus drivers and tube workers
Security guards from seven trade unions will also take industrial action while workers in London’s bus and tube systems will walk out too.