THREE HUNDRED thousand of Scotland’s public sector employees are estimated to have gone on strike last Wednesday as part of a UK-wide walkout opposing the government’s proposed changes to state pensions.

In Edinburgh, all schools, museums, galleries and libraries were closed, as at least 7,500 protesters marched down the Royal Mile to Scottish Parliament.

Supporting the demonstrators, Alan Munro, President of the Educational Institute of Scotland, Scotland’s largest teaching Union, gave a speech at a rally outside Parliament.

He said, “I am proud that we are able to march with our fellow trade union colleagues … to fight the totally unjustified and unacceptable attack that the Westminster government is trying to make on our pensions.

“They simply want us to pay more tax … to fund the deficit. Scottish teachers have been tolerant long enough. We have accepted a two-year pay freeze. Inflation is running at 5 per cent. We are saying enough is enough.”

An estimated two million workers went on strike across the UK, with Trade Union Congress general secretary Brendan Barber hailing the scale of support for the strikes as, “unprecedented”.

“This is an unprecedented day – 30 unions have members taking action together. We are sending a crystal clear message to the government that we are strong, that we’re united and that our campaign will go on until justice and fairness is delivered for every public servant.”

The industrial action follows months of negotiations, with union chiefs criticising the government’s plans to raise the age of retirement, while simultaneously making public sector workers pay larger contributions to their pensions.

Meanwhile, Chancellor George Osborne has condemned the strikes, pointing to the potentially negative impact on the economy.

He said, “It is only going to make our economy weaker and potentially cost jobs.

“Let’s get back round the negotiating table, let’s get a pension deal that is fair to the public sector, that gives decent pensions for many, many decades to come but which this country can also afford and our taxpayers can afford.

“That is what we should be doing today, not seeing these strikes.”

Just 30 out of 2,700 schools in Scotland remained open, with 400,000 NHS healthcare staff walking out of hospitals across the UK.

A second year politics student told The Student of his support for the protests, but expressed doubts as to whether they would make an impact.

He said, “of course it’s important that people voice their objections.

“My only worry is that [the protests] won’t make any difference – if the government can’t afford the current pension scheme then … that’s not going to change because of some protests.”

Marches against the government’s proposals were also held in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee, and Inverness.