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“Low pay force environmental agencies to struggle to discharge their functions. Without action, the pollution of our waterways will get worse,” union leader Clancy warned.
On Thursday, thousands of U.K. physiotherapists, university staff, pensions, and environmental agency workers took to the streets to reject the below-inflation pay deals.
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“We urge conservative ministers to stop ignoring the public body’s workforce and open talks on payment, which has been falling since 2010,” the Prospect Union Secretary Mike Clancy stated.
He said that the union members, which include environmental agency workers, love their jobs “but simply cannot continue to do them when their pay is decreasing in real terms, and they are overworked, understaffed, and under-resourced.”
“Low pay and recruitment force environmental agencies to struggle to discharge their key functions. Without action, sewage discharges and the pollution of our waterways will only get worse,” Clancy warned.
Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) trade union had no option but to announce strike action because of the lack of a concrete offer from the government. Over 4,200 physiotherapists were estimated to have taken part in the previous CSP strike on Jan. 26.
Why much of UK's public sector is on strike pic.twitter.com/4izBAIfuvb
— Nikita Sud (@professor_sud) February 9, 2023
The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) members also urged the government to improve their working conditions and guarantee job security since over 40 Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) offices may close due to the crisis.
“The U.K. university sector has over US$48 billion in reserves. Instead of using that vast wealth to deliver a cost-of-living pay rise and reverse devastating pension cuts, university vice-chancellors would rather force staff to take strike action and see campuses shut down,” the University and College Union Secretary Jo Grady condemned and welcomed that students back their professors’ demands.
“Our pupils understand that staff working conditions are their learning conditions. We are proud to have their support in these disputes,” Grady stated, stressing that over 70,000 colleagues are taking part in the demonstrations.
#UK | The United Kingdom is experiencing the biggest strike day in 11 years with thousands of schools closed, trains paralyzed, and the absence of thousands of civil servants demanding better social conditions and labor demands. #WalkoutWednesday pic.twitter.com/LY7aVjMrdb
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) February 1, 2023
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