Labor Actions Throw Grinch Into British Christmas Planning

LONDON — Christmas may not be so merry this year for millions of Brits and millions more foreign visitors descending on this sceptered isle for the annual orgy of holiday partying and discount shopping.Ambulance drivers have staged a 24-hour strike and are planning another one next month, and now the folks who look at the passports of those entering the country are planning to walk out. Nurses and railway workers also got into the act, staging strikes of a day or two and announcing more walkouts for next month.The outbreak of labor actions confronted the conservative government of Prime Minister Sunak with a headache just as he was settling into the post he won in October. The government has basically stood fast against pay raises commensurate with fast-rising prices — at an inflation rate of nearly 11 percent.After the National Health Service urged people not to call 999, the emergency number, other than in life-or-death cases, the question for many was whether they felt they were facing imminent death. Friends and family members were reported to be rushing sick people to hospitals when ambulances failed to show up.Just to lighten the load, the National Health Service advised people to avoid getting drunk and sick or risking accidents over the holidays while emergency personnel from the armed forces and police stand ready to pitch in.Entering the country for long-planned holiday merry-making may prove to be a different kind of hassle.The Border Force — that is, the men and women who stamp passports — walked off the job at six major airports and aren’t planning to be back until New Year’s Day, if then, other than next Tuesday, “Boxing Day,” as the Brits refer to the day after Christmas. Army soldiers filled in while entry procedures were made possible by sticking passports into computerized readers that also take mug shots.International travelers had to resign themselves to longer-than-usual lines at London’s two major airports. No use avoiding the mess by booking into Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff, or Glasgow: They’re striking at those airports too.As if that’s not enough, the railway workers union is planning a series of walkouts right into next month. About 40,000 rail workers will be “downing tools” — a favorite British phrase for going on strike — on different days.That won’t be a problem on Christmas Day, though. Every year, alone among every nation with a public transport system, the entire network of buses, trains, and subways goes on holiday. For 24 hours, most everyone is at the mercy of London cabbies, who have their own way of sneering, “Thank you very much,” if not satisfied with the tip.Just a reminder that Christmas is as sacred as the monarchy or the Church of England regardless of strikes, walkouts, or hyper-inflation.

Labor Actions Throw Grinch Into British Christmas Planning

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