In Britain, half a million teachers, civil servants and train drivers joined a nationwide strike Wednesday, forcing schools to shut down and halting rail service. It was the largest such work stoppage in a generation and comes on the heels of a historic nurses’ strike last month. Workers called for fair wages amid soaring inflation. Some 300,000 teachers took part in “Walkout Wednesday.” This is Mary Bousted of the National Education Union.

Mary Bousted: “Teachers are striking in England and Wales today because there has been, over the last 12 years, a really catastrophic long-term decline in their pay. Teachers have lost 13% over that period. That’s, in real terms, a huge amount to lose. And that is causing a recruitment and retention crisis in our schools.”

A number of students joined their teachers on the street, including 10-year-old Issa Yeboah-Asante from London.

Issa Yeboah-Asante: “Our school is suffering from our teachers not having enough money to be paid. So I think that I should miss some school, because I believe that teachers should have their funding.”