‘Exploitation is the dirty secret of higher education’: London’s university staff on why they’re striking

Cars hooting, chanting into megaphones, picket lines of public sector workers standing out in the cold in puffer jackets.

Scenes like this have become a familiar sight in recent months — particularly today, on what’s being dubbed ‘Walkout Wednesday’, as teachers, train drivers and civil servants all take part in what is reportedly the biggest day of strike action in over a decade.