Transport unions don't want to strike but we've been left no option - Manuel Cortes, TSSA

Our union remains locked in a struggle over pay, job security and conditions at train operating companies across most of England as well as Network Rail.

I know industrial action disrupts lives, including across Yorkshire. However, we do not do this lightly, in fact for our union the recent strikes have been pretty historic.

We probably have not had so many of our members taking part in industrial action since the General Strike of 1926. Our union much prefers to be around the negotiating table thrashing out a deal.

The facts are that at the moment we have a government not only missing in action but wholly committed to sitting on its hands.

The Tory Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, could have ended this dispute but chose not to do so.

Instead, he wants to see our railways – a vital public service - rundown as we emerge from this terrible pandemic.

It’s more than likely you will see this in your region – whether you are in Sheffield, York, Leeds, Harrogate Doncaster or elsewhere. Trains, which we rely on for work and leisure, are less frequent than they once were.

That is a scandal because while those running Department for Transport train operating companies continue to make huge profits, the Tory government insists they slash jobs, demoralise staff and cut pay.

That is why we have had to act. Trade unions have a long history in our country and exist to collectively get a better deal for our members.

In the face of an escalating Tory cost of living crisis we had no option but to take industrial action.

We do so not only because our members, who were on the front line of the pandemic keeping the country moving, deserve to be treated with respect.

We have also taken this action because the cuts the government wishes to implement are a direct threat to the safe running of our rail network. That is something we will never compromise on.

No one strikes lightly and I can tell you that is true of our members at LNER, Cross Country and Network Rail who walked out last month.

It is also true of those at Northern and TransPennie Express where we have taken industrial action short of a strike and are now moving to strike action in the case of TransPennine.

So, when some media outlets, far less reputable than The Yorkshire Post, try to frame our next strikes across these companies and elsewhere on the 26th and 27th of this month as some sort of menace to the public, ask yourself why – why do these ordinary men and women feel so strongly about an issue they are willing to down tools?

They do so because they are hard working, highly committed professional people who keep us safe on our railways. They do so because they deserve a fair pay settlement and job security.

That is not all though. This is about our collective futures. Investment in our railways is a great way to turbo charge local and regional economies, so it's vital they have the full financial backing from government of any stripe.

It is also a highly clean and green way of travel, and with the climate crisis very much upon us we simply can’t afford the disaster of a car-led recovery.

So, when we have a new Prime Minister in Downing Street they could do worse than to wake up and realise this truly must be the age of the train.

That means acting quickly to sort out the mess Shapps and Boris Johnson have left them and letting our members get back to their work knowing their futures are secure.

Manuel Cortes is the general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) union.