British railway workers are on strike

In the UK, many people's return to work in the New Year begins with a strike. Because at the start of a week-long labor dispute, railway workers have now obstructed the way of commuters.

Because of the strike, there will be significant restrictions on train traffic by Sunday, according to the ORF. The trains are likely to be fuller, probably departing later and ending earlier. In some places there will be no connections at all. RMT boss Mick Lynch said the government seemed pleased the strikes were continuing. "All parties involved know what needs to be done to reach an agreement, but the government is blocking it," Lynch told the BBC

The government has asked union leaders to return to the negotiating table. "The only way to reach an agreement is to get the unions and the employers to the negotiating table and not to the picket line, and that's what I want," Transport Secretary Mark Harper said on Times Radio.

The UK is experiencing the biggest wave of industrial action over wages and job conditions in decades - not just among railway workers, but also among nurses, paramedics, postal workers and airport workers. According to the government, it cannot afford to grant public sector employees a wage increase that would fully cushion the effects of high inflation.