The wave of strikes in the UK continues next month with a major civil service strike. On February 1, some 100,000 British civil servants working in 124 government departments will quit their jobs, Union PCS announced on Wednesday.
In recent months, the UK has been hit by train and ambulance strikes. Health care workers, teachers, driving instructors, passport control officers at airports and lawyers have also resigned in recent months. This puts pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
All kinds of government workers are taking part in the strike. As a result, it will probably be difficult to take a driving test or apply for a passport on February 1. Payments of benefits may also be delayed.
The day 1 February was deliberately chosen because that day an umbrella body of British trade unions is already taking action against a bill by the Sunak government that restricts the right to strike. Sunak wants minimum levels of service to be guaranteed in actions, as a result of which strikes lose strength.
The English postal company Royal Mail cannot send mail and parcels to other countries for the time being. The company is suffering from what it calls a ” cyber incident.” Royal Mail is calling on customers such as companies not to offer export packages for the time being.
Royal Mail is one of the largest postal companies in the world and is also active in the Netherlands through its parcel subsidiary GLS. According to the company, thousands of British companies use its services to send parcels to customers outside the United Kingdom.
What exactly the cyber incident entails is not entirely clear. It is possible that the 507-year-old Royal Mail could not access its systems. The company says it is working with outside experts to resolve the issues. The incident has also been reported to regulators and security services.
Companies from outside the UK can still import Royal Mail. With such packages, a slightly longer delivery time must be taken into account.
