London, (AFP) - About 40,000 British rail workers are going on strike Wednesday to protest over wages and jobs, a month after their biggest strike in 30 years, in the midst of Britain's purchasing power crisis.

After not achieving their demands following a historic three-day strike in late June, the National Union of Railway Workers (RMT) called for a 24-hour strike in the hope notably of better wages, in the face of severe inflation in the country that could exceed 11% by year end.

It is a burning issue that the successor to Prime Minister Boris Dunson will have to address. Johnson resigned on July 7 after a series of scandals. Foreign Secretary Liz Terrace and former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak are in the race to succeed him.

As a result of the strike, about one out of every five trains will operate on Wednesday, only in approximately half of the network, while no train will run throughout the day in some areas.

The strike also affected the movement of Eurostar trains crossing the English Channel, causing cancellations and change of flight times.

In addition, the RMT and TSA unions will carry out coordinated strikes on August 18 and 20, while the former announced a strike in the London Underground on August 19.

RMT General Secretary Mike Lynch said the members of his union are more determined than ever to secure a pay rise and ensure job stability and good working conditions.

He confirmed that Network Rail, which operates most of Britain's railways, had not made "any improvement over its previous salary offer".

Transport Minister Grani Shapps attacked the unions, accusing them of intensifying strikes and threatening to carry out strikes at the expense of thousands of employees.

"We must do more to prevent these very far-left unions from causing disruptions to the daily lives of ordinary people," the minister told Sky News on Wednesday.