Teachers throughout England went on strike this week over salary and working conditions in the state-funded school system, the latest in a series of strikes that have affected the lives of millions of Brits.

The negotiations will begin on Friday and continue through the weekend. The National Education Union said it will wait off organizing any additional strikes for two weeks to ensure a “period of quiet”.

The Department for Education, along with the Association of School and College Leaders, National Association of Head Teachers, NASUWT, and National Education Union, released the statement. In a broader sense, there is mounting pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to address the current wave of worker unrest in the UK, which is the most severe since the 1980s. This unrest includes strikes related to pay, which are impacting various aspects of daily life due to inflation levels exceeding 10 percent.

On Thursday, the government reached an agreement with unions on a wage plan that would result in a 5 percent pay increase for 2023/24 and a one-time payment for the current fiscal year for over a million healthcare employees. That agreement must now be ratified by union members.