A train strike has started a series of stops in the UK

A four-day rail strike began on Tuesday in the UK and made it difficult for thousands of Britons to travel to their workplaces, as part of a series of union actions to protest against inflation and demand better wages.

According to the National Union of Railroad, Maritime, and Transportation Workers (RMT), 40,000 of its members work on the grid rail network and in 14 railway companies are participating in the strike.

The The force measure will last until Saturday and will resume in January for another four daysAgence France-Presse quoted on RTM.

The Workers demand a 7% wage increase. They denounced that the conservative government headed by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak “deliberately obstructs” the means of reaching an agreement.

It is estimated that only 20% of rail services will operate during the force measure, which was launched after negotiations with the company failed.

Network Rail, the public company that runs Britain’s rail network, has asked residents to avoid travel unless absolutely necessary.

Union announced that The government’s latest payment offer, rejected on Monday, was “well below inflation.” That was “totally unacceptable”.

“Our members do not want to accept the offer… The transaction value is not high enough,” RTM said in a statement.

Although he was “optimistic” that an agreement could be reached, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch told the BBC the government needed to “help facilitate that”.

In October alone, 417,000 working days have already been lost due to social conflicts in the UK, the highest level since November 2011, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

In addition to railway workers, security guards on Eurostar trains to the European continent and border policemen who control passports at airports will strike in the coming days, forcing the government to deploy military personnel.

also The health sector will be affected, as nurses announced an unprecedented strike on Thursday On December 20, it will be joined by ambulance drivers, administration sectors and the private sector.

The Minister for Transport, Mark Harper, declared on the Radio Times that the government’s “number one economic priority is to get inflation under control, (…) so that people can meet the cost of living,” noting that the executive has provided “significant help” to households to offset rising costs. Energy prices.

Is also Force measures planned this week from other sectors, such as the post office, While similar measures were announced by highway maintenance staff and baggage handlers at London’s Heathrow Airport this weekend.