Great Britain: The Current Strikes Represent A Moment Of Awakening
The first week of February was marked by the most significant strikes in Britain in recent decades. Teachers, nurses, ambulance drivers, firefighters, public employees, university professors, railway workers, postal workers, and many other sectors are leading an expansive wave of strikes that began several months ago and will continue throughout February and March. February 1 is particularly remarkable for the number of workers who came out into the streets: half a million workers went on strike across England, Wales, and Scotland. Teachers and railway workers met together in massive demonstrations. The “specter” of a general strike haunted the streets as simultaneous strikes of strategic sectors converged across the region. Mick Lynch, Secretary-General of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), declared at a rally outside the gates of Downing Street: “We are the working class and we are back!”