Public-sector workers in the United Kingdom walked out Thursday to protest pay, pensions and job cuts, closing schools, courts and libraries across the country.

Government employees belonging to Unite, Unison and the GMB labor groups joined members of the National Union of Teachers, the Fire Brigades Union and the Public and Commercial Services union in a day of action focused on below-inflation pay rises for workers across the public sector. The unions said more than 1 million workers went on strike, a number disputed by the government.

Last year, local government workers received a 1 percent increase after a three-year pay freeze imposed as part of Prime Minister David Cameron's effort to reduce the U.K.'s budget deficit. They've been offered 1 percent again this year, while retail-price inflation was 2.4 percent last month, meaning a pay cut in real terms, according to the unions.