According to the ONS, the UK has lost about 1.2 million working days to strike action since June, which is the highest number for a five month period since May 1990, the Telegraph said. In October alone, the country lost 417,000 working days because of industrial action, the report said.
The UK has seen a series of strikes by civil servants over the past months as people express their dissatisfaction with the worsening economic situation caused by rising energy prices and soaring inflation in the country. Employees of railroad companies, post offices, airports, and lawyers, among others, are taking part in the strikes. Winter strikes by national healthcare system workers are also expected, prompting the UK government to begin training troops to step in and fill in the staffing gaps.
Social dissatisfaction has grown as the UK entered a serious economic crisis earlier this year. Annual inflation in the UK reached 11.1% in October. According to the Bank of England, the UK economy has entered a recession expected to last until the second half of 2024.