Do you think there are too many strikes in the Netherlands now? In the UK, there is a strike agenda in the newspapers

Garbage that is not collected, buses that do not run: we have seen many strikes in the Netherlands recently. But this is nothing compared to what is happening in the UK now. “Every newspaper publishes the strike agenda every week.”

The string of strikes reported by Great Britain correspondent Lea van Beekhoven seems endless: civil servants, teachers, healthcare workers, bus drivers – all walking away from their jobs for better working conditions. “But the British are taking it passively.”

Call for improved working conditions

“From today until Thursday, the newly graduated doctors, who number around 48,000, will strike,” says Van Beekhoven. “It has not been taken over, so this is a major escalation in health care.” The doctors want better wages and better working conditions.

“The London Underground will be closed on Wednesday and civil servants will strike. About 100,000 civil servants will stop working. Driving licences cannot be sent out or driving tests can be taken. Hundreds of civil servants working in ministries and from Wednesday university staff will also strike, affecting 2.5 million students. Even professional groups that normally keep quiet, such as trained examiners, are starting to walk off the job.

Completely turned off

“And that’s just this week,” says Van Beekhoven. Next week, primary and secondary school teachers will strike for two days in a row. The UK has been on strike since last summer. Inflation has risen, but wages have not.

Van Beekhoven believes that the British are taking the blows patiently and learning to live with them. “The British are not taking to the streets in yellow vests or driving to Westminster in tractors. They are completely exhausted by the economic situation of recent years,” he added.

Empty supermarket shelves

England is paralyzed by a bad economy. The country has been in economic stagnation since 2008. Brexit, which came later than expected, certainly didn't help.

The fact that the economy is not doing well can be seen, for example, in the supermarket. “It scares you,” says Van Beekhoven. “Many supermarkets no longer carry fruit and vegetables. That has been the case for some time.”

Ends when the government starts negotiating.

Van Beekhoven hears from many Britons that spirit Out. “They say: ‘This is another problem. Strikes are another obstacle. This country is no longer working.’” The strikes will only end when the government starts negotiating. That has already begun in a few sectors, such as health care.

“Wages in this sector haven’t risen for some time, while everything has become more expensive,” says Van Beekhoven. “In the healthcare sector, wages are now lower than they were in 2008, they tell us.” But if the government does what healthcare workers want, which is to increase wages by 10 to 15 percent, inflation will rise, the government says. There seems to be no end to the wave of strikes for now.