Public Sector Employees in U.K. Join Greece in Striking Proposed Austerity Measures

750,000 public-sector employees in the United Kingdom began a strike on Thursday, expressing outrage that negotiations between the government and unions had broken down over pensions. Teachers, civil servants, and other public British employees peacefully gathered in London to protest pension cuts. The move is a loud echo of the ongoing strikes in Greece, where citizens there have conducted strikes against proposed government austerity measures. The U.K. hasn't been immune from making spending cuts in an attempt to get its deficit under control. According to a Reuters report, "Other campaign groups - including the protest movement UK Uncut and student groups - have said that they will coordinate demonstrations in support for the strike against the government's austerity reforms, which include 80 billion pounds ($130 billion) in public spending cuts." The U.K. government has proposed that public-sector employees retire later and contribute more towards their pensions. Unions have rebelled with a strike, already upset at previously announced job cuts and a pay freeze. Prime Minister David Cameron has weighed in on the issue before Parliament. "In my view there is a contract between taxpayers and public-sector workers saying you work in the public sector and we'll support you in old age, but it must be sustainable." Public-sector workers around the world have had to battle hostility over their pay and benefits packages. Often reeling from a deep contraction in tax revenues, governments have often sought reform in their employees' compensation packages.