In Britain, rail passengers will face fresh travel disruption this week because of strikes by tens of thousands of workers in disputes over pay, jobs and conditions.
And things aren't about to get easier for the health service in the UK either, as nurses and ambulance staff return to the picket line this month.
Sian Elliott's from the TUC and says it's not just workers though, across the water, who are feeling the impact of low wages:
"If you starve the public sector, and its workforce, of decent pay, you're starving the economy too, because those workers go out and spend in their local high street, in shops and in restaurants. They stimulate demand in the wider economy".
