British public unions stage one-day strike

LONDON, June 30 (UPI) -- A one-day strike by four British public employee unions began Wednesday evening with some Border Agency employees at airports.

By Thursday morning, more than 40 percent of the country's public schools were closed or partly shut down. In Wales, more than half the schools were affected.

Authorities warned travelers to expect delays at airports, as immigration agents took part in the strike that involved hundreds of thousands of unionized government workers, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported.

The dispute centered on plans by the government to make changes in the pension system.

The strike shut down courts and slowed police services. Streets in central London were to be closed because of a union march and rally.

The strike was called by the Public and Commercial Services union, which represents about 250,000 public employees throughout Britain, and three teachers unions, the National Union of Teachers, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers and the University and College Union. Schools and universities in Scotland and Northern Ireland will not be affected, although other government services will be.

The general secretary of the PCS, Mark Serwotka, said the government appeared unwilling to "compromise on any of the central issues of the strike."

"While they are talking, they are not negotiating," he said.

Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron said the planned changes in the pension system are fair to everyone, The Telegraph reported.

The Office of National Statistics said the average public school teacher retires with a pension package worth $800,000. The average principle at a public high school retires with a package worth $2.4 million.

For a private sector employee to match that, he or she would have to put aside $803 per month for 40 years, the government said.