Britain Comes To Standstill As Biggest Rail Strike In 3 Decades Begins

Britain faces its biggest rail strike in 30 years. The strike began today, with tens of thousands of workers walking out in a pay and employment dispute, reported Reuters.

This strike could pave the way for more widespread industrial action in the coming months.

What happened: More than 40,000 rail workers scheduled to strike on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday gathered along picket lines from dawn. The London Underground metro was also mostly closed due to a separate strike.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated that the industrial action would harm businesses as they continue to recover from the pandemic.

Why It matters: Unions have warned that the rail strikes will kick off a "summer of discontent," with teachers, doctors, waste disposal employees, and even barristers considering strike action as food and fuel prices continue to rise, pushing inflation near 10%, writes Reuters.

The unions were harming the people they claimed to be helping, stated Johnson.

A YouGov poll conducted earlier this month revealed that public opinion on the strikes was split, with around half of those questioned opposing the action and slightly more than a third supporting it.

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