Public sector strikes - in pictures

Public sector workers march through Manchester city centre, as workers around the country stage the biggest general strike for decades Photograph: Dave Thompson/PA

Marchers gather in central Manchester Photograph: Jon Super/AP

Public sector workers disperse after attending a rally in Bradford Photograph: John Giles/PA

Demonstrators march with trade union placards in Manchester Photograph: Andrew Yates/AFP/Getty Images

Health workers demonstrate outside St Thomas' hospital in London Photograph: Sang Tan/AP

Public sector workers march in London in protest at pension cuts Photograph: Graeme Robertson for the Guardian

Strikers walk behind a large banner as thousands take part in a march in Liverpool Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Demonstrators march through Bristol city centre Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Public sector workers take industrial action on a picket line outside Mill Hill depot Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images

A bus carrying union members drives through Parliament Square in London Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters

A man wears a banner as he stands outside St Thomas's Hospital in Westminster, London Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

A public service protest over pensions outside the gates of the Stormont parliament building in Belfast, Northern Ireland Photograph: Peter Muhly/AFP/Getty Images

Council workers set up early morning picket lines at Bolton town hall Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian

Demonstrators stand outside the Houses of Parliament Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

Radiographers from the Royal Liverpool Hospital stand on the picket line with a skeleton they have named 'Dave' Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Unison president Eleanor Smith (left) leads health workers out on strike at the Birmingham Women's Hospital at midnight Photograph: David Jones/PA

Public sector workers from the PCS Union on a picket line outside the Port of Dover in Kent Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

A striker stands outside City Hall in central London Photograph: Chris Helgren/Reuters

A placard outside the high court in central London Photograph: Chris Helgren/Reuters

Passengers walk through Terminal 3 at Heathrow airport. Plane arrivals and take-offs at Britain's biggest airport were largely unaffected by today's strike, with just a few cancellations of inbound transatlantic flights on Wednesday morning Photograph: Steve Parsons/PA

Public sector workers on a picket line outside Turnpike House in Salford Photograph: Dave Thompson/PA

Unite members strike outside the Liverpool entrance to the Birkenhead Tunnel which has been closed for the day Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA

Billy Bowman, a bus driver for 30 years, protesting outside the Short Strand bus depot in Belfast, where 200 buses are off the road Photograph: Paul Faith/PA