In Pictures: Country’s biggest day of strike action for a decade

Half a million workers walked out, affecting schools, universities, trains and buses.

Striking members and supporters of the National Education Union (NEU) on Whitehall, on a march from Portland Place to Westminster where they will hold a rally against the Government’s controversial plans for a new law on minimum service levels during strikes (Jordan Pettitt/PA) (PA Wire)

In the biggest mass strike in a decade, up to half a million workers were taking action in increasingly bitter disputes over pay, jobs and conditions.

“Walkout Wednesday” saw thousands of schools closed for the day because of action by the National Education Union (NEU) and picket lines were mounted outside railway stations, schools, government departments and universities across the country.

Universities across the UK were hit by walkouts, with lectures and seminars cancelled, as 70,000 staff started an unprecedented period of strike action. Meanwhile, cities across the country saw rallies and protests.

Rail workers continued their strike action in their long-running dispute over jobs, pay and working conditions.