More than half a million workers in the UK stage the biggest strike in a decade

MADRID, 1 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

More than 500,000 workers from all over the United Kingdom have started a strike on Wednesday to demand wage increases and better working conditions in what is the largest protest of its kind registered in the country in the last decade.

The strike has been called by seven British unions in sectors such as teaching and transport, among others. The situation has led thousands of schools to close their doors throughout the day, according to information from the BBC television network.

Civil servants, bus drivers and train drivers, in addition to the staff of universities and other educational centers, have also stopped working to join the strike, which takes place in the face of the strong economic crisis registered in the country.

Unions have organized pickets in front of train stations and schools, as well as government offices in various parts of the country. More than 100,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services Union, the sixth largest union in the UK, walked off the job on Wednesday, including members of the Border Guard and airport workers.

The unions have expressed their rejection of the government's regulations to establish a new law on minimum services during strikes. So far, the workers have managed to gather some 200,000 signatures to block this measure.

The general secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Paul Nowak, has indicated that he hopes that the protests and strikes will serve to "send a strong message to the government about the anger felt by more and more workers."