British government ministers are meeting with union leaders today in an attempt to agree an end to a wave of strikes that have blocked Britain's rail network and put pressure on the country's already overburdened health care system, the Associated Press reported.

Health Minister Steve Barclay is holding talks with representatives of the trade unions in the health sector.

Other ministers are meeting union leaders from the transport and education sectors as teachers' unions also plan industrial action.

Britain is experiencing its biggest strike wave in decades.

Among those on strike, with demands for higher pay, are airport baggage handlers, border control and postal workers, driving instructors and bus drivers.

Another day of transport chaos in the UK

Nurses and ambulance drivers are in a serious industrial dispute with the state-run National Health System (NHS) demanding that their wages be indexed to rising prices.

Inflation in Britain reached a record 11.1 percent on an annual basis last year, boosted by a sharp rise in energy and food prices. 

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