Thousands of British prison officers say they might join the planned nationwide strikes on November 30.

The Prison Officers Association has 35,000 members, and at least 15,000 will go on strike.  That’s enough to shut down the operations of British prisons.  To make matters worse, the number of people now in British prisons hit a record 87,945 last week.  The prisons are nearly maxed out.

The U.K. government wants to cut retirement plans, and that seems to be the straw that is breaking the prison guards’ back: “We are hoping that we can come to a settlement on pensions, but if we can’t, then we will support the November 30 day of action.”-Steve Gillan, Prison Officers Association