Tens of thousands of nurses and ambulance staff walked off the job in the U.K. on Monday in what unions called the biggest strike in the history of the country's public health system.
The walkout is the latest in a wave of strikes that has disrupted Britons' lives for months, as workers -- especially in the public sector -- demand pay raises to keep pace with double-digit inflation. Teachers, train drivers, airport baggage handlers, border staff, driving instructors, bus drivers and postal workers also have all walked off their jobs in recent months to demand higher pay.
The strike piles more pressure on the state-funded National Health Service, already staggering under demand from winter viruses, staff shortages and backlogs built up during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite union representing some ambulance staff, said Sunday there were "no talks at any level whatsoever with the government" about pay. She urged Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to "come to the table and negotiate -- roll your sleeves up and negotiate on the pay in the NHS -- that is what's required."
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