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Train strikes throw travel around Leeds into chaos

This week members of the National Rail Maritime and Transport Workers Union staged the first of a number of national walkouts that is set to ravage the industry over the Christmas period.

Leeds station which is usually bustling with commuters on a weekday morning was unusually deserted on Tuesday morning as the industrial action commenced.

A handful of rail workers gathered outside the station to form a picket line as their dispute with train operating companies and the government carries on.

John Stewart, branch secretary for the RMT Union in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire told Yorkshire Voice: “We took the action today because we’re trying to get the government to see a little bit of common sense and stop trying to put obstacles in our way.”

The Government expressed disappointment that industrial action took place, as the Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: “The situation is incredibly disappointing, and unfair to the public, passengers and the rail workforce who want a deal.”

Unless a settlement can be agreed between the parties involved, industrial action is set to heap misery on travellers over the festive period as further strikes are planned between the coming weekend and the 7th-8th January.

Workers are taking industrial action in order to secure better working conditions and pay rises to match the recent rise in inflation.

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