The biggest wave of industrial action to hit the UK in decades is grinding the country to a halt as public service workers protest against plummeting living standards and skyrocketing rates of inflation.
Rail workers across the country walked off the job for much of December and the beginning of January, shutting down around half of the UK's rail lines in a demand for higher pay as soaring inflation pushed down living standards.
Further strikes are also planned for February as resolution talks stall.
Bus drivers, too, shut down operations through December and January.
At the picket line outside Walworth bus depot in London, strikers told the ABC that stagnant wages meant they were having to use their savings for everyday expenses.
"Every driver is struggling to pay every bill," said Jim, one of the bus drivers striking last week.
"The cost-of-living crisis has really affected everybody and we're all banking into the savings and we're all getting into debt.
"Anyone who can do basic maths can see it doesn't work."
Transport workers are not the only ones taking industrial action – the UK is widely accepted to be in the grips of an industrial relations crisis.
Health workers walked off the job in December and January and mail staff ceased operations in the lead-up to Christmas.
Teachers and other public sector workers, including border force staff, are also due to walk out in February over pay disputes.
The UK government maintains its hands are tied — it says a pay rise over inflation for every worker paid by the public purse would cost taxpayers 28 billion pounds ($50 billion), though this figure is disputed by economists.
The government also says increasing public pay packets above inflation risks worsening it further: however, economic opinions vary on the actual size of the impact.
Inflation in the UK hit a 41-year high of 11.1 per cent in October before coming down slightly to 10.5 per cent in December.
Why are living standards in the UK on the decline?
Inflation is the driving factor for more and more Britons struggling to make ends meet.
Energy and food prices have skyrocketed, partly brought upon by supply interruptions and sanctions following Russia's war in Ukraine.
There has also been a spike in demand as economies restart following pandemic lockdowns.
Changes in the UK's trade relationship with the EU following Brexit have also led to higher prices.
According to the UK's National Office of Statistics, the price of everyday groceries has risen dramatically in the past year.
Milk prices have gone up 50 per cent, sugar up 43 per cent and staple pantry goods like bread and pasta up 16 per cent.
The average cost of rent across the UK has increased by 13 per cent since December 2021, according to analysis by letting website SpareRoom.
The UK government's Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) in November forecast living standards would drop by an average of 7 per cent over the next two years.
It's the biggest fall in living standards since the office began tracking the relevant data in the 1950s.
UK government debating anti-strike laws
New anti-strike laws being debated by the UK government could force people away from the picket line in a bid to prevent the widespread industrial action that has ground England to a halt.
Similar to Australia, strike action cannot happen on a whim — it must be approved in advance in order to be deemed legal.
In order for approval to be granted, a union must organise a formal vote among its members, which must be agreed to by the majority.
Under the laws proposed by the UK government, any strike action that does not keep enough staff working to maintain a "minimum service level" would be deemed illegal.
Some of the sectors that would be forced to keep working include the health service, rail, education, fire and border security.
The majority of the named sectors have been involved in strike action in the past month.
The bill grants employers the right to fire employees who refuse to work if they are rostered on to meet the minimum service level during days of industrial action.
It is unanimously agreed between the government and the unions that the laws would reduce the impact of strikes, but with wildly different opinions on that being a good thing.
Business Secretary Grant Shapps said the new law protects the public from "disproportionate disruption".
"This is an attack on human rights and civil liberties which we will oppose in the courts, parliament and the workplace," said Mick Lynch, general secretary of the RMT rail union.
