The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) said that it was closely monitoring the situation and had issued guidance to forces on dealing with large-scale strike action.
A large-scale strike took place in Sweden in 1902 over similar issues and was followed by one in Italy in 1904 protesting the use of soldiers as strikebreakers.
It conducts a little more than 30 attacks a week, carries out a large-scale strike every four to six weeks, and has expanded its efforts to recruit Iraqis, leading to a significant increase in the number of Iraqi-born suicide bombers.
In September 1942, the Germans arrested over 400 workers which they feared were plotting a large-scale strike action.
And so, in summer 2011, the then 26-year-old helped organize the "Nardò uprising"—the first large-scale strike held by migrant laborers in Italy.
While labor unions quickly condemned what the legislature had done, officials told The Huffington Post at the time that a general strike -- a large-scale strike by all workers in particular industries -- was not in the works.
While there was some initial chatter (and even some protesters chanting) about the possibility of a general strike -- a large-scale strike by all workers in particular industries -- labor officials say it is not in the works at all.
Although the employees wield little power -- the industry is largely union-free, thanks in part to the proliferation of so many temp agencies -- a large-scale strike could potentially disrupt the supply chains of major American companies, creating ripple effects well beyond the distribution hubs.
The fact remains, though, that large-scale strikes on civilian targets outside the Middle East are a rarity.
The pact is the latest in a series of state-sponsored agreements that have helped prevent large-scale strikes in Ireland since the 1980's.
Such fears of large-scale strikes remain unrealistic for now, but the strike plans by British Airways and Network Rail workers "do show a hardening of attitudes particularly in the transport industry," Howard Wheeldon, strategist at BGC Partners in London, said.
