• Third rail strike to hamper services across Britain as discussions continue.
• RMT members object to limited pay rises and changes in working procedures.
• At issue is a conflict over the modernization of working techniques inside the network’s maintenance unit.

Train passengers in the United Kingdom are preparing for a third one-day rail strike on Saturday after discussions between the infrastructure owner and the RMT union failed to provide a resolution.

On Friday, the RMT and Network Rail continued negotiations on wages and working conditions, according to sources familiar with the issue.

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However, they cautioned that even if a compromise was reached, the industrial action scheduled for Saturday would proceed since it would be too late to mobilize sufficient workers to operate rail services effectively.

As with the strikes on Tuesday and Thursday, train operators announced that the rail network would operate a “significantly” curtailed timetable on Saturday, with barely 20% of services operating. They cautioned commuters to utilize rail only “if necessary.”

The three days of protests represent the largest strike on Britain’s rail network in decades, as RMT members object to limited pay rises and changes in working procedures that could result in job losses.

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At issue is a conflict between the RMT and Network Rail over the modernization of working techniques inside the network’s maintenance unit, which consists of approximately 10,000 employees.

Network Rail has stated that obsolete methods must be modernized in order to save money that might be used to provide pay increases in excess of the projected 3% increase.