UK union suspends planned November rail strikes

(Adds quote, details) LONDON, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Three days of planned strike action by tens of thousands of British rail workers over the next week has been suspended while "intensive negotiations" are held in a long-running dispute over pay and working conditions, the RMT trade union said on Friday.

Three days of planned strike action by tens of thousands of British rail workers over the next week has been suspended while "intensive negotiations" are held in a long-running dispute over pay and working conditions, the RMT trade union said on Friday. The RMT, whose members have held several days of walkouts over the last few months causing major disruption to the rail network, said it would hold talks with the train operating companies and Network Rail, which owns, operates and develops Britain's railway infrastructure.

The latest strike action had been planned for Nov. 5, 7 and 9. "The threat of strike action and our strongly supported industrial campaign has made the rail employers see sense," RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said in a statement.

But the union said its current dispute with the companies remained "very much live" and that the result of another ballot of its members on strike action was due Nov. 15. "Our re-ballot remains live and if we have to take strike action during the next 6 months to secure a deal, we will," Lynch added.

Rail unions and train companies have been wrangling for months in a dispute over pay as double-digit consumer price inflation outpaces pay rises across a range of industries in Britain.