‘Summer of discontent’: UK faces strikes and boycotts over price hikes

The UK has been mired in a crisis for weeks due to the rising cost of living which has triggered great frustration among its citizens, giving rise to an increasing number of strikes and the emergence of initiatives to boycott electricity and gas bills.

The wave of strikes by workers whose pay does not last until the end of the month due to rising prices has been dubbed the “summer of discontent” by the British press.

The term alludes to the protests that took place in the late 1970s in the midst of a serious economic crisis – and which were called at the time the “winter of discontent”.

And it is this concern that dominates British political debate and poses a major challenge for both the government and the opposition.

runaway inflation

Inflation — the pace at which prices rise — reached 10.1% in July, five times the target set by the Bank of England. And the institution’s forecast is that it exceeds 13% in the coming months.

However, other analysts project a much higher percentage, which has generated concern and indignation in the population, who fear having to choose between heating the house or eating when winter arrives.

According to investment bank Citi, inflation is “entering the stratosphere” — and could reach 18% next year, the highest rate in nearly 50 years.

Likewise, economists at the independent think-tank Resolution Foundation told the BBC that, based on current forecasts of price caps and the latest data on the rate of price increase, inflation could reach 18.3%.

Citi’s chief economist in the UK, Benjamin Nabarro, told the BBC that concern about the cost of living is “greater every day”.

“The question now is what policy can do to offset the impact on both inflation and the real economy,” he said.

“Almost all of these inflation estimates were caused by the skyrocketing gas prices, which are part of almost everything we buy,” explains BBC analyst Simon Jack.

“For example, the production of electricity that depends on gas, the prices of fertilizers linked to the gas that drive up the price of food, even the prices of bars and nursing homes.”

“What is clear is that the forces that have driven prices up seem destined to get worse before they get better.”

‘National crisis’

Rising energy prices portend a rough winter in the UK.

“The energy bill situation is a national crisis of the magnitude of the Covid pandemic”, consumer expert Martin Lewis tells the BBC, while advocating that the government double its subsidy to compensate for the huge expected increase.

According to a survey conducted by the price comparison site Uswitch, almost a quarter of households are already in arrears, something that is expected to increase this winter.

The price of gas and electricity for households will be three times higher this winter than in the past, according to estimates from one of the country’s biggest energy providers.

James Gilmour, who lives with his partner and three children in Essex, northeast London, took out a £5,000 loan to help pay his energy bills.

His gas and electricity bill has already doubled from £145 a month to £320 – and from October he said he will pay more than £600 a month, according to the latest forecasts.

“As a family of five, we just can’t afford it on a monthly basis. By the time we’re halfway through the month, there’s no money left for food and essentials,” he tells the BBC.

James, who works in the auto industry, added that the loan was “the only way to survive this crisis”.

Meanwhile, small business owners who have just dealt with the ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic are struggling to keep their doors open.

Emily Wilkinson, who runs a gym with her husband in the north of England, says the energy crisis has left her business “fighting for survival”.

“We are facing a double whammy. Not only will our household bill increase by up to £3,000 a year, we are also seeing an even more dramatic rise in the cost of electricity at our gym.”

“When we were starting to recover from Covid, we were given a £1,000 a month energy bill, compared to £480 before,” he explains.

In the case of retirees, this situation can get even worse. Graham West, a 68-year-old pensioner, has turned to food banks for the past six or seven weeks after seeing food and energy costs soar.

“Otherwise I wouldn’t be eating,” he says.

Their cases are not isolated.

“Half of British households will face energy poverty this winter if the government does not take action to alleviate the rise in bill prices,” warned EDF Energy UK Managing Director Philippe Commaret in an interview with the BBC.

According to him, a “catastrophic winter” is approaching for more than half of British households, who will have to allocate 10% or more of their income to pay for energy.

From October, all households will start receiving discounts on their bills up to £400, a measure approved weeks ago by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The director of EDF Energy maintained, however, that the next head of government, who will assume power in early September, should adopt more measures.

“Any ideas that can keep customer accounts under control should be considered,” says Commaret, adding that his company has seen a 30% increase in calls from customers experiencing payment problems.

Boycott of bill payments

For now, and until the government takes effective measures, the Don’t pay campaign, launched in June, calls on the British to boycott paying electricity bills from October 1, the day scheduled for the increase in energy prices.

So far, more than 110,000 people have joined the initiative via the web — and have agreed to cancel their direct debit payments.

The Don’t Pay movement stated that the support received so far “demonstrates anger and frustration at a broken energy system that must be drastically transformed for the benefit of citizens”.

The organization demands a reduction in bills to an affordable level — and claims that millions of people will not be able to pay their energy bills this winter. For them, this campaign is the only way to force the government and energy companies to act.

The group says it will take no action unless 1 million people sign up — and that it is “consulting extensively” with experts in law and personal debt.

strike wave

The frustration that the accounts did not close at the end of the month led thousands of workers from various sectors to go on strike or consider the possibility of going on strike. The main unions demand a salary increase.

Britain’s trade union center (TUC) has urged the government to take steps to raise the minimum wage to £15 an hour “as soon as possible”.

The current minimum wage for workers over 23 is £9.50, with lower amounts for younger employees.

“All workers should be able to afford a decent standard of living,” says Frances O’Grady, the TUC’s general secretary.

“But millions of low-wage workers are living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to survive, and are now being pushed to the brink by exorbitant bills and skyrocketing prices.”

The mighty rail industry has long been at war with the government and the train companies. They are now joined by stevedores at the English port of Felixstowe, where almost half of the UK’s container traffic is channeled.

The discontent also affects other sectors such as the judiciary, the British Royal Mail service, telecommunications, teachers and nursing.

Likewise, the rubbish collection service in Scotland has paralyzed its activities and left the streets full of containers overflowing with garbage bags.

Voices then emerge that define these strikes as the “summer of discontent”, as they recall the arm wrestling that plagued the management of former Labor Prime Minister James Callaghan in the 1970s.

At that time, a series of economic crises caused major problems for the government. The decision by OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) in 1973-74 (and later in 1979-80) to cut oil production to raise prices hit the British economy hard, forcing the Labor government to turn to the IMF. (International Monetary Fund) and cut public spending.

The unions were much stronger than they are today and much closer to the government.

The government’s failure to persuade them to moderate their wage demands at a time when inflation was really high — it spent most of the second half of the 1970s in double digits — led to widespread strikes during the “winter of discontent.” ‘ and paved the way for conservative Margaret Thatcher’s victory in 1979.