UK faces travel chaos as unions warn strikes could continue "indefinitely"

Thousands of workers across the UK kicked off a four-day strike due to long-running disputes over working conditions and unfair pay, reported Anadolu Agency.

Commuters across the country, including the capital London, have been advised not to travel unless absolutely necessary.

Workers taking part in the industrial action are largely from Network Rail, Transport for London, London Buses and other transport services and are members of a number of unions.

General secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, Mick Lynch, accused the government of pursuing a "deliberate policy of prolonging rail disputes for political reasons."

In a letter to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, he said the government was using "taxpayers' money to bail out private train companies," having doled out over GBP120 million (US$143 million) so far, according to the union's calculation.

Earlier, the RMT head said Network Rail had "not made any improvement on their previous pay offer and the train operating companies have not offered us anything new."

He said officials were holding "secret negotiations with the government about cutting costs by slashing jobs and undermining working conditions and pensions."

"Network Rail is also threatening to impose compulsory redundancies and unsafe 50 per cent cuts to maintenance work if we did not withdraw strike action. The train operating companies have put driver-only operations on the table along with ransacking our members' terms and conditions," he added.

In addition to Thursday's industrial action, members of the RMT and Unite unions will walk out of London Underground tube stations and bus depots Friday in a separate dispute over pay.

On Saturday, railway workers including train drivers, conductors and platform staff, alongside members from the London United bus routes, will stage a walkout that will further disrupt travel plans for many on the weekend.

Unions leading the mass strike argue that their workers are being severely affected by the cost-of-living crisis, with inflation reaching a 40-year high of 10 per cent and real wages seeing a sharp drop.

In June, a mass walkout by members of the RMT union caused one of the UK's largest rail strikes in 30 years.