'It's just not sustainable, we can't live like this.' Workers on the picket line share their stories.

Half a million people are on strike today in the biggest strike day in more than a decade.

Teachers, civil servants, academics, train drivers, bus drivers and security guards represent the workers taking industrial action up and down the country.

We spoke to strikers this morning about what has driven them to the picket line.

Ellie Clarke, Civil Servant in the Cabinet Office

Even before the pandemic I was by no means rich but since the pandemic it has got incredibly difficult, everything is through the roof. At the moment, my rent is half of my salary and that’s before you even start to think about paying bills which seem to go up every quarter. It’s just not sustainable, we can’t live like this.

The whole problem is compounded by the fact that we’ve had really quite serious wage restraints since 2010. Civil servants have had a 20-25% real-terms pay cut and that was before inflation hit double digits. So we are asking for a 10% pay rise, which is still below inflation, we’re asking to stop over-paying on our pensions and for no cuts to our redundancy terms. 

We don’t enjoy being on strike as we have to sacrifice our salaries and also we enjoy our jobs, we chose to be public sector workers and servants and we want to do that to the best of our ability. But people really feel like they’ve been left with no choice but to go on strike because things are so bad. When I was organising for the ballot and calling up members, I had people crying on the phone to me because they don’t know how they are going to feed their kids or how they’re going to make their rent.

These are people that often work full-time and we don’t have enough to basically survive on. On top of that, people came out to clap for us and there was a recognition that public sector workers were in a very difficult situation over the pandemic, we worked extremely hard to keep the country running, and to be met with a 2% pay offer feels unfair to say the least.

Maggie Halloran-Pine, Art Teacher

I’ve been teaching for 26 years and the reason I’m striking today is for more money, but more importantly, that whatever pay rises are given are not taken out of school budgets. We are putting our hands in our pockets for our own resources, that is a ridiculous state of affairs. It’s not good for my pay when I’m having to spend my money to support students. And they can’t afford it either, their parents are also struggling.

My budget has not changed, yet the price of resources for the students has gone up inexplicably, so I’m not able to provide the resources that students need to do their learning. That’s putting a huge pressure on me and the students, as well as the pressure to still get them the same grades and maintain high standards.

There’s been a big change over the last 10 years. Every year the workload increases in a ridiculous way. There’s a lot of pressure on you from different places, mainly exam boards and the government. It’s become a situation where it’s impossible to do everything for everybody and still maintain standards and safe guarding.

If I was on my own I absolutely would not be able to afford to live in London despite being born and bred here, there is just no way on a single person’s teacher salary. I know lots of teachers struggling to find places to rent that they can afford which is crazy, given that it’s taken them so many years to train and it’s a hard job to do. You have to be dedicated with the long hours. But I haven’t met a student yet who hasn’t been hugely supportive, I think they understand that it is also about the fact that they are not getting the education they should, and it’s impacting on their learning and their futures.

Ru, Tutor at University of Westminster

I came from a course that only had one full-time tutor and the rest were part-time. For me as a student it was insane, and then when I became a tutor and saw their experiences first-hand I saw how ridiculous it is, because you are getting such low pay which doesn’t make sense with the tuition fees the students are paying right now. Even the facilities are not expanding with the growth in the number of students. Something is wrong in the gap. And when you are a part-time tutor you see the difference in payments. You get £21-23 per hour rate, but sometimes it jumps to £60-70 per hour for other tutors. There is something very wrong with the system.

I feel very sorry that we have to strike because it’s a shame for the international students who came here for one or two years to study and their time is being wasted, not gaining knowledge because of the stubbornness of the capitalist system and management. But with our wages and living costs it’s just crazy. Every time I leave the UK and come back I get surprised again with the costs that I can’t keep up with. I’m still taking money from my parents even though I’m working, it’s ridiculous.

Hannah Davenport is trade union reporter at Left Foot Forward

(Photo credit: Hannah Davenport)

Left Foot Forward’s trade union reporting is supported by the Barry Amiel and Norman Melburn Trust

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