Prospect of all out general strike looms over Britain

More picket lines and travel disruption as tens of thousands of rail workers across Britain walk out. Represented by the RMT union, for months they have been asking the government for better working conditions and an increase in their pay to match the double digit inflation.

The government says the pay rises are unaffordable, and has promised tough action against the unions. The unions say they're standing firm.

According to Press TV, the strikes come at a cost to the economy in terms of lost working days, and the right wing media in the UK have been counting that cost. Yet that doesn't seem to have dented public support for the strikers.

The rail workers walkout comes amid a cost of living crisis that has seen food and energy prices soar to 40 year highs since the start of the Ukraine war pushing millions of Britons into poverty.

Staff at the crisis hit National Health Service, the NHS, will also be going on strike this week for the first time in more than 100 years. And the number of sectors joining the strike action is only growing.

We may not see a general strike in the traditional sense, but the way things are going, it is likely that the different trade unions will synchronize and coordinate their action to maximize their leverage for a better deal with the government.

ME