UK: Public Sector Workers Protest Pension Changes

 The striking public sector workers are particularly concerned about their pensions. Workers will be required to work longer and pay more into their pensions.The strike closed many schools and at hospitals many operations are cancelled. Over half of UK schools are closed.
  Air trafffic at Heathrow however seems to be operating close to normal with only a few flights cancelled. The situation varies in different areas. In Northern Ireland bus and train services are shut down. The strikes are being held in numerous centers around the UK not only in London the capital. Demonstrations are being held in Birmingham, Leeds, Exeter and Aberdeen in Scotland.

Public sector workers on strike in Newcastle

   While unions claim that up to two million public sector unions will take part in the strike the government says that less than a third of civil servants are taking part. As well as requiring workers to pay more into their pensions and work longer to earn them, the government plans to base pensions on career average earnings rather than the final years as many pensions are calculated now. This will reduce pension amounts considerably. The government claims funding present pensions cannot be sustained as workers are living longer. Obviously the solution is to make conditions so bad that workers will die earlier. The money saved can be used to sustain the one per cent in the style to which they are accustomed. For much more see this article.