It’s being called the biggest strike in the UK in a generation.

Thousands of public sector workers have walked off the job-- crippling schools and transportation-- and slowing down some hospitals and other services.

It’s all in response to a proposed government reform of pension plans. The proposal would mean public workers contribute more money-- and more hours.

CNN explains-- the government says the change will help weather the financial crisis.

“Government officials say that this pension reform is necessary quite simply for the fact that people here in the UK are living longer. As a result, pensions are getting more and more expensive. That expense falling to the UK taxpayer.”

On the other side of the issue--  public workers say the financial crisis isn’t their fault.

That’s the point one Russia Today reporter made when interviewing this union leader.

Reporter: “We see the government just constantly saying there just isn’t any money left and yet they are bailing out the Eurozone in which we have essentially no interest and certainly no membership”

Union leader: “Certainly people are saying, we didn’t pay for the crisis. We didn’t pay for the banking crisis and they bailed out the banks. And now working people are being made to pay for that.”

As for private sector workers-- they’ve got a side in this as well.

Here’s that argument from an analyst on Sky News.

“The public sector is vastly more rewarded than the private sector and I don’t really understand why people in the private sector should have to pay more to subsidize the lifestyles of people in the public sector who are already paid per hour on average.”

Figures from the government Office for National Statistics back up his claim--

The Daily Mail reports...

“The average public sector worker earns nearly £4,000 a year more than a typical private sector worker...”

But a blogger for Significance says-- that same data also revealed-- there’s a good reason for that.

“The public sector is now made up of a larger proportion of higher skilled jobs...This is probably due to the fact that the public sector has been gradually outsourcing some jobs (such as cleaning) to the private sector.”

Regardless of which side has the stronger argument-- Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls says this is a debate that could have-- and should have-- been resolved without a strike.

Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls: “The problem is that there is some real unfairness in what the government is proposing, the unions have to give some ground and I think they should and they would have done but the government said weeks ago they’re not going to talk anymore, no more ground to be given... It was the chancellor and the prime minister’s job to give some ground and sort it out, they didn’t, and that’s why we end up with this strike today.”

Labor unions say as many as 2 million people would be joining the strike.