CIVIL SERVANTS struggling to look after their children because of today’s strike, which could see up to a third of schools in England and Wales closed, have been encouraged by ministers to bring them to work.
The 24-hour strike of nearly 500,000 workers, which began at midnight, will affect schools, airports, courts and other public offices. The stoppage has been ordered by four unions furious about plans to cut public sector pensions and force workers to retire a year later.
Defending the proposals, prime minister David Cameron described the action as “irresponsible” but dismissed Labour leader Ed Miliband’s decision not to raise the issue during prime minister’s questions in parliament.
The PM said Labour didn’t want to talk about the issue because the party’s MPs are paid for by the unions.
The strike could cause queues at immigration checks at air and sea ports, though it is not clear what impact it will have on flights from Ireland. However, the British Airports Authority has withdrawn its earlier advice that passengers should consider travelling on other dates.
Unions and government divide on the number who will join picket lines, with the unions claiming that 750,000 will protest, while the government puts the figure at 500,000, adding that two-thirds of all of England’s 25,000 schools would not be affected.
Four trade unions are involved: the National Union of Teachers, the Association of Association of Teachers and Lecturers and the University and College Union, along with the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), which represents 250,000 often low-paid public servants.
Calling on National Union of Teachers members to pull back from the strike, education secretary Michael Gove said: “Because I have been on strike myself that I know strikes don’t solve anything . . . it is no way to resolve this issue. Talks are going on.”
Lib Dem business secretary Vince Cable said the four unions involved had a weak mandate. “The general public will see this action as completely unnecessary. There are talks taking place to try and resolve this very tricky complex issue. It has got to be dealt with, it has got to put on a financially viable footing.”
Meanwhile, it is understood that the Labour leader, who said on Tuesday that the strike should not go ahead, was criticised at a parliamentary meeting with the PCS union.
