A rail strike across the UK set for the day before the opening of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham could wreak havoc on millions of tourists.
The strike will come a month after the country's most disruptive railway strike in 30 years that paralysed train networks across Britain.
The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers said its tens of thousands of members will walk out for 24 hours on July 27 after an ongoing dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.
Earlier this week, Network Rail made a fresh pay offer worth more than 5% which would see workers accepting "modernising reforms".
Union leaders rejected the offer, describing it as "paltry".
"The offer from Network Rail represents a real terms pay cut for our members and the paltry sum is conditional on RMT members agreeing to drastic changes in their working lives," RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said.
"We have made progress on compulsory redundancies, but Network Rail are still seeking to make our members poorer when we have won in some cases double what they are offering, with other rail operators."
"The train operating companies remain stubborn and are refusing to make any new offer which deals with job security and pay," he said.
"Strike action is the only course open to us to make both the rail industry and government understand that this dispute will continue for as long as it takes, until we get a negotiated settlement."
The union is looking for a pay rise of at least 7%.
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