Public sector launches strike over proposed pension amendments
A few hundred thousand UK public sector workers went on strike over planned pension changes today.
School teachers from three unions walked out, and around 40 per cent of state education establishments across England and Wales had to be closed or partially shut. As well as this, the Public and Commercial Services organisation, a union including police support and UK border staff, are also striking.
The coalition government says that the plans are more than fair to taxpayers, with other unions continuing with negotiations. Condemning the strikes just as the opposition has, ministers have still been criticised for mishandling negotiations that have taken place with the unions.
Action by NUT, the National Union of Teachers, ATL, the Association of Teachers, and UCU, the University and College Union, affects both England and Wales. United in their fight, the unions say that the proposals will mean more work and increased contributions for an already-reduced pension.
Data collected by the Department for Education suggests that at least 11,114 schools of the total 21,500 in England were affected by the walkouts, and that 5,679 schools had to be shut while another 4,999 were just partially closed.
In addition, some 201 academies and technology colleges also shut their doors, while 235 remained only partially open. Over in Wales, according to authority figures, over 1,000 schools from a total of 1,800 were either closed or at least partially closed.