Two British rail unions threaten a pay strike

Leaders of Britain's two main rail unions called an indefinite pay strike to start Aug. 31, predicting it would shut down the country's rail system. The executives of the National Union of Railwaymen and the train cab crews' union, the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF), voted to strike after talks with British Rail management over an 11 percent pay increase broke down. ASLEF leaders said they would consult other unions about the possibility of bringing London's subway workers out on strike as well.