Breaking News English

Workers at the United Kingdom's [central / centrally] bank, the Bank of England, have voted to stage a four-day strike [on / in] support of a pay claim. It will be the first walkout [at / by] staff from the bank in over five [decades / decadence] . Over 95 per cent of bankers who voted [option / opted] for strike action over what they deem to [been / be] an unacceptable pay rise offer. The Bank offered its workers a [collective / collection] one per cent pay rise for its staff. The deal means that a [thirdly / third] of staff could get no pay increase at all. The union that represents the Bank's workers said: "The result of the Bank's unwillingness to negotiate [fare / fair] pay will be that the Bank's sites, including the iconic Threadneedle Street premises in the City of London, will [effective / effectively] be inoperable."

The Bank of England was [establishing / established] in 1694. It is the second oldest central bank [in / on] operation today. Workers at the bank are [suffering / suffered] along with millions more public sector [stuff / staff] in the UK who have had their annual salary increase [lapped / capped] at one per cent. This is below the level of inflation, which currently [stands / stood] at 2.9 per cent. A union spokeswoman said workers would be taking action, "because of the bank's total [refuse / refusal] to accept that its workforce is struggling to meet their costs of [alive / living] ". She added: "It is nothing short of shameful that the iconic [symbol / symbolic] of financial services in the UK is choosing to ride roughshod over the concerns of its dedicated and hardworking staff and [impose / compose] this derisory pay deal."