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UK railroad union has launched the largest strike in 30 years.
About 80% of train services were suspended due to the strike.
Strikes are showing signs of spreading across Europe, with airport employees going on strike in Belgium and France as well.
Correspondent Kim Hyung-rae.
<Reporter> The
depot was full of trains, but the railroad tracks were empty and the train station doors were tightly shut.
It was the biggest strike in the UK railroad union in 33 years.
As about 40,000 union members went on strike every other day since yesterday (21st), nearly half of the railway lines were closed, and about 80% of train services were suspended.
[Mick Lynch/President of the British Railroad & Maritime Transport Union: We received proposals from the British Railroad Authority and the railway operator, but decided to reject both proposals after review by the Executive Committee.]
The core cause of the labor-management conflict is the wage increase rate issue .
The union demanded a 7% wage increase in response to the rapid increase in inflation, but the management failed to reach an agreement by suggesting a 3% increase in the number of passengers because the number of passengers did not increase.
[Andrew Haynes / UK Railroad Authority CEO: It is clear that there is a financial crisis in our system.
It currently requires an additional taxpayer burden of £2 billion.
Strikes are likely to be prolonged, especially as the UK government is concerned about inflation due to wage hikes.
With global inflation, strikes in other European countries are also showing signs of spreading.
Yesterday, at Brussels Airport, Belgium, all departure flights were canceled due to a security guard strike, and the French de Gaulle Airport staff also announced a strike from the 1st of next month.