With hundreds of thousands of workers from all walks of life taking part, it is considered the biggest strike action since a wave of strikes and protests took place last year in the UK.
Workers affected by the inflation crisis have gone on strike across the UK economy . Photo: AFP
From nurses to lawyers, workers affected by the consumer price inflation crisis have been striking across the UK economy, protesting against the government's "trickle-down" pay rises over fears of rising inflation.
"The government isn't listening, so this is what we have to do," Jil Gant, 59, who works for the prison service, said at a protest outside Chancellor Rishi Sunak's Downing Street office.
An estimated 130,000 members of the civil servants' union PCS have left government departments and agencies such as the Border Force. Gant called the government's latest 2% pay rise offer an "insult".
Workers, who say wages have not kept pace with inflation, are also striking over conditions, job security and pensions. Other groups holding strikes on Wednesday include UK university staff and BBC journalists in the UK.
Strike action by rail workers at the London Railway, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union has brought the entire underground network to a standstill.
Wednesday's strike came as Mr Hunt unveiled a raft of support measures to help struggling families, but failed to secure specific funding for a public sector pay rise.
"We are prepared to provide more, but we are not going to do anything that will cause inflation because that means we will still have these strikes in a year's time," he told the BBC.
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said some public sector managers were now so poorly paid they were forced to rely on benefits. “Doctors are on strike in our hospitals, train drivers are on strike,” he said.
Doctors in the UK went on strike for three days on Monday, claiming some were paid less than cafeteria workers. The British Medical Association, which represents junior doctors, said their salaries had lost 26% of their value due to inflation since 2008-09.
Huy Hoang (according to AFP)
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