Dec. 26 (UPI) -- Shoppers hoping to cash in on Boxing Day sales across Britain faced more frustration than usual as a rail strike forced thousands of people to scramble to find alternate means of transportation.
Thousands of members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers union staged a walkout ahead of the Christmas holiday weekend, calling attention to demand for better wages and working conditions.
Mick Lynch, the general secretary of the RMT, said the union is ready to talk.
"But until the government gives the rail industry a mandate to come to a negotiated settlement on job security, pay and condition of work, our industrial campaign will continue into the new year, if necessary," he said Friday.
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Traffic congestion across the region is high on Monday, though military personnel are manning operations at some key travel checkpoints such as Heathrow Airport.
On the roads, meanwhile, the Automobile Association is expecting some 15 million people to travel throughout the day on Monday.
"Traffic is likely to build around shopping centers as lots of people seek a bargain in the sales, meanwhile football fans will travel to see their teams," an AA spokesperson told the BBC.
Work stoppages have threatened most major economies in the waning months of 2022. U.S. President Joe Biden in early December signed legislation designed to avert a national railroad strike, estimating that a prolonged strike could cause severe damage to the U.S. economy and result in as many as 750,000 job losses across the supply chain.
France's state-owned railway company canceled more than half of its scheduled trips in early December due to a nationwide strike by rail conductors. Union leaders were expressing frustration with mandatory weekend shifts ahead of mandatory, sector-wide salary negotiations.
In many cases, wages aren't keeping pace with inflation, which is running at close to 11% in the British economy.
Boxing Day is similar to Black Friday in the United States. Sales are expected to come in about 4% below year-ago levels due to the increase in the cost of living, the Guardian estimated.
