The U.K. faces a day of mass strike action by civil servants and public workers in late April, a union has announced, which will follow a month of sector-wide walkouts.
Millions of British people are suffering a cost-of-living crisis as stubbornly-high inflation erodes the value of wages, triggering huge industrial action as workers battle for significant pay increases.
Months of strikes across the U.K. come as European neighbours France and Germany endure huge industrial action in protest at pay and conditions, including pensions.
In Britain, more than 130,000 members of the PCS trade union who work across the civil service and public sector will strike on April 28, it said on Monday.
It will be the union's "latest one-day action alongside a month of walkouts to increase the pressure on the government on pay, pensions and job security", the PCS added in a statement.
The union will oversee numerous smaller strikes throughout April in the run-up to the big one-day stoppage, including several walkouts by museum workers, driving examiners and border staff.
They will be joined by striking junior doctors, while rail workers have suspended further stoppages.
PCS General secretary Mark Serwotka said government ministers "need to take notice that we're escalating our action and they need to resolve the dispute by putting money on the table".
The U.K. annual inflation unexpectedly shot higher last month to reach 10.4%, close to a four-decade high as food and energy bills remain sky-high.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, leader of the Conservative party, insists big pay rises risk worsening inflation, adding that it hinders government efforts to reduce state debt that ballooned during the COVID-19 pandemic.
