London arrests at strikes
POLICE arrested 30 people in London yesterday as 15,000 of the capital’s teachers and civil servants took part in the biggest strike in a generation.
Strikers clashed with police after a number broke away from the main march and staged a sit in on Whitehall. The violence left one police officer and six protesters injured.
But government officials said the walkouts had a minimal impact nationwide as less than 106,000 civil servants and under half of Public and Commercial Services Union members joined the strikes.
“The vast majority of hard-working public sector employees do not support today’s premature strike,” said cabinet office minister Francis Maude.
About 11,000 UK schools closed while the Met Police said 95 per cent of 999 call handlers had walked out.
The strikes follow government efforts to address the pension deficit as people live longer in retirement.