英国两百万工人发动大罢工

Up to two million public sector¹ workers are staging a strike over pensions in what is set to be the biggest walkout for a generation.

英国多达两百万的国营部门工人因养老金问题正在举行游行示威活动，这是一代人以来最大的罢工。

The strike is expected to be the biggest single day of industrial unrest since the Winter of Discontent
Schools, hospitals, airports, ports and government offices will be among sites disrupted, as more than 1,000 demonstrations² are due across the UK.

It would "achieve nothing", Downing Street said, calling for more talks.

Unions object to government plans to make their members pay more and work longer to earn their pensions.

Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude branded the action "indefensible（站不住脚的） and wrong".

"While discussions are continuing, I would urge public sector workers to look at the offer for themselves rather than listening to the rhetoric³（修辞） of their union leaders," he said.

"These are the sort of pensions that few in the private sector can enjoy."

Shadow chief secretary of the treasury⁴, Rachel Reeves, told BBC's Newsnight on Tuesday that Labour did not support the industrial action.

"We do not support the strike because a strike is a sign of failure," she said.

"But we think the government needs to give something more to low-paid public sector workers. They've just seen their pay is going to be frozen effectively for another two years.

"We understand why they are striking, because [there is] effectively a tax increase on public sector workers."

Earlier, union leaders reacted angrily to Chancellor⁵ George Osborne's Autumn Statement announcements of a public sector pay cap of 1% for two years, as well as bringing forward to 2026 the rise in the state pension age to 67.