Larry Williams Drive

Britain is facing its biggest rail strikes in decades after last-minute talks between a union and train companies failed to reach a settlement over pay and job security.Up to 40,000 cleaners, signalers, maintenance workers and station staff are due to walk out for three days this week, on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The strike is expected to shut down most of the rail network across the country, with London Underground subway services also hit by a walkout on Tuesday.The Rail, Maritime and Transport Union branded employers’ latest offer “unacceptable” and said “the strike action scheduled this week will go ahead.”Secretary-General Mick Lynch said rail companies had “proposed pay rates that are massively under the relevant rates of inflation, coming on top of the pay freezes of the past few years.”Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the strike would cause “mass disruption,” with only about 20% of services able to operate.Shapps placed blame for the strike squarely on unions, which he said were resisting