Sunak looks to pay deals to avert Feb strike chaos

UK PM Rishi Sunak will look to begin closing a series of pay deals with trade unions, as the government enters 10 days of crunch talks ahead of coordinated strike action planned for early February. Members of the Cabinet have told Sunak he must act fast to avoid a week of strikes that threaten to bring the country to a standstill, one minister said.
Teachers, civil servants, train drivers and university staff will walk off the job on February 1. Nurses and ambulance workers will strike again on February 6, intensifying pressures on the National Health Service. The hope was these agreements would have a domino effect, unlocking talks with other unions and resulting in a quick succession of deals, the minister said.