Doncaster city centre rally held to show solidarity as strikes take place across UK

Teachers, bus and rail workers, civil servants and university lecturers have also walked out on what is being described as the biggest day of industrial action in a decade.

More than 500,000 people – including 100,000 teachers – were expected to strike and it comes on top of industrial action by nurses. ambulance workers, firefighters, postal workers, telecommunications staff, train drivers, journalists and barristers across the country.

Doncaster Trades Council organised the demonstration outside Doncaster Council’s Civic Offices in Sir Nigel Gresley Square to show support for the strikers.

Organiser Ann-Louise Bayley said: “We stand shoulder to shoulder with one another in proud solidarity with all strikers, all activists and the general public who are angry and disheartened by this current cruel government.

She added: “With the current strike action in Doncaster, with the current cost of living crisis where one out of three children live in poverty in the north, with our rights to strike and protest under serious threat, with Doncaster being levelled down, we’ve called this solidarity rally.”

Members of Unite, PCS, GMB, NEU and ASLEF as well as Ukrainian trade unionists joined the demo.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan insisted the majority of schools would be open in some form - but the NEU says 85% will be either fully or partially closed.

Further strikes across a number of sectors are set to follow in the coming week as pressure on the Government ramps up.