LONDON, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- A majority of Britain's residents believe firefighters, medics and other emergency workers should never be allowed to strike, a survey has found.
But respondents were more tolerant of strikes by other unions, and most value the role of organized labor, says a poll reported Friday by Angus Reid Public Opinion.
Opinions were unchanged since an earlier survey despite the planned strike of London firefighters and other looming labor unrest.
In the online survey of 2,015 adults, 54 percent said emergency workers should always be forbidden to strike, along with 43 percent of health workers. Smaller numbers said the same of teachers, civil servants, transit workers and others.
Two-thirds (67 percent) of Britons believe trade unions are a vital sector of society and 31 percent say they have too much influence, 21 percent too little and 33 percent the right amount.
The poll was taken Oct. 27-28 and had a margin of error of 2.2 percent.
