Thousands of train operators in Britain failed to show up for work on Saturday in a strike over pay, job security and working conditions, leaving much of the country without service.
The rail stoppage is the latest in a series of strikes that have begun to spread among British workers demanding a sizeable pay rise to offset food and fuel hikes.
The 24-hour strike by members of the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firefighters paralyzed trains on major routes, including main lines between London and Scotland and commuters around the capital.
Those who work on weekends, soccer fans who wanted to attend games and families who wanted to go to the beach in the heat wave were among those who had to change their plans.
This has been a disruptive summer for transport in Britain.
Thousands of cleaning workers, traffic controllers and maintenance workers staged various one-day strikes in June and July. More strikes are scheduled for next week on trains nationwide and on London’s bus and tube transport network.
The disputes focus on pay, working conditions and job security at a time when British rail companies are struggling to adapt to changing travel and commuting habits that may be forever due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Trains covered almost 1bn journeys in Britain in the last year to March, compared with 1.7bn in the 12 months before the pandemic, with companies looking to cut costs and staff after two years in which they were held to float thanks to emergency funding provided by the government.
Unions accuse Britain’s Conservative government of preventing rail companies from improving their proposals. Railway firms are privately owned but are strictly regulated in the country.