Royal Mail workers, teachers and lecturers all walk out bringing country to standstill

Industrial unrest has swept the country

Picket lines were mounted outside schools, universities and Royal Mail centres on Thursday as tens of thousands of workers went on strike in worsening disputes over pay, jobs and conditions.

Union leaders said walkouts were being solidly supported amid a bitter war of words in the industrial unrest sweeping the country.

The general secretary of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) accused Royal Mail of subjecting its workers to a “psychological attack”.

Speaking at a picket in Camden, north London, Dave Ward told the PA news wire: “What they’re doing is threatening our people every day. If they leave behind mail because they can’t complete it in their normal work time, they’re being threatened with the sack.

“They’re been pushed around to this delivery, that delivery, they’re being refused overtime when there’s mail in the office. They won’t pay out overtime for our people.

“They’d rather have the quality of service failures and then they blame it on the postal workers.

“And genuinely, we’ve seen people resigning from the job because they’re sick and tired of the attacks that are going on in work.

“It’s a psychological attack.”

The union has rejected the company’s “final” offer and is pressing ahead with a series of strikes in the coming weeks, including on tomorrow’s Black Friday and on Christmas Eve.

Around 70,000 members of the University and College Union (UCU) will strike on Thursday and Friday, and again on November 30, in a dispute over pay, pensions and contracts.

It will be the biggest strike of its kind, affecting an estimated 2.5 million students, with the union warning of escalated action in the new year if the row is not resolved.

The union says lecturers and other academic staff have suffered a decade of below-inflation pay rises, with a 3% increase announced in the summer.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady joined a picket line in Manchester, telling PA that UCU members have “had enough” of falling pay, pension cuts and gig economy working conditions.

“Our members are absolutely up for this strike in huge numbers because they know what is at stake.

“Universities have £40 billion in reserves but appear to be more bothered about buildings than people.

“Around 90,000 staff are on fixed terms contracts. They want a career but are being prevented from putting down roots.”

Schoolchildren stayed at home as teachers across Scotland walked out in their first national pay strike in almost 40 years.

Every school on the Scottish mainland will be shut as thousands of teachers in the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) walked out over pay.

Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville warned the Scottish Government’s budget is under “extreme pressure” and the 10% rise demanded is “unaffordable” after a last-ditch offer was made in a bid to avert the strike.