Protesters speak out about pension cuts

Almost three million public sector workers went on strike to protest against government cuts and pension reforms on Wednesday. Demonstrations took place all across the country, including a large protest in central London.

OBV interns Arita Pecaka, Oksana Trofimenko, and Danny Mucinskas travelled to Holborn to cover the "Day of Action" and to speak to protesters and their supporters. OBV asked the demonstrators about why they chose to come out to the event, how they felt about pension reform, and what they hoped to achieve by striking, with a focus on the BME communities.

Thousands of protesters had gathered at Lincoln's Inn Fields in Holborn at midday before marching to Victoria Embankment.

The diversity of the crowd was evident with people from many different occupations and backgrounds, such as teachers, healthcare workers, and students.

An employee of Hackney Community College and a member of UNISON said,

We hope to bring the government to their senses. When the government goes on holiday for four months, no one notices; the country still runs. But when three million of us go on strike, the government will have to notice, because we provide the public services, not MPs. My pension is £9,000 a year and I want to fight to keep it. We have to take inspiration from the students last year.

Another member of UNISON stated,

"The changes in pensions are unfair, especially for people who already have pensions. It's like telling people, you have paid this much money into a bank your whole life, but actually you paid a lot less into it than you're supposed to. That's changing the goalpost in a way that isn't fair."

A father who attended the protest with his young child said,

"I'm here to protect my pension. It's important for people like my son and what's going to happen to his pension when he gets older."

A group of schoolteachers expressed their frustration with the current situation in the government. When asked who was to blame for the pension crisis, they pointed to their posters of Prime Minister David Cameron with the slogan, "Not one cut. He's got to go."

One teacher said,

"We are striking because the public sectors, especially us, who have one of the hardest jobs in society, are being punished for the benefit of the government and the rich."

For in-depth coverage of the event and more opinions of those who took part in the strikes and protest, look out for OBV On The Street video which will be posted soon.

Arita Pecaka and Danny Mucinskas