The first nationwide strike of its kind by workers from companies including McDonald’s, Wetherspoons and Uber has been hailed as a watershed moment in moves to organise in sectors where unions have struggled to take root.
A day of unprecedented action across eight British cities saw workers from the retail and hospital sector take part in co-ordinated walk-outs supported by unions, campaign groups and the Labour party leadership, which instructed its MPs to join local picket lines.
The strike comes days after Amazon raised its minimum wage for UK and US workers in a major milestone for campaigners pushing for pay increases although the GMB union, which organises workers at the firm, has said the rise would be offset by the removal of employee share and incentive schemes.
The shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, addressed a rally on Thursday in Leicester Square, central London, and pledged that Labour in power would act swiftly to introduce a £10-an-hour minimum wage, one of the central demands of those taking part in the strikes.
“Our message to exploitative employers is that we are coming for you,” McDonnell said. He told Labour MPs that they had “a responsibility” to join picket lines in their constituencies. The grassroots Labour campaign group Momentum threw its weight behind the action, and organised pickets outside McDonald’s outlets across the country in support of workers calling for £10 an hour, an end to precarious contracts and for their right to join a union.
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