The strike, convened by the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), affects 80 percent of the country’s train service, and will be repeated on Saturday, unless the negotiations with the Network Rail company and 14 other operators are successful, union leader Mick Lynch warned.

They want to strip us of our working conditions, they are attacking our pensions, and of course, we haven’t had a pay deal in our industry for the last two or three years, Lynch told Sky News television at London’s Euston station.

The RMT Union general secretary, who accuses the Conservative Government of interfering in the negotiations, added that the operators also intend to cut thousands of jobs.

Thursday’s strike, the sixth by the British railway employees since June, is backed by the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association and the trade union UNITE, which brings together several sectors of the economy.

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