The pandemic should have taught us the value of rail workers - Yorkshire Post Letters

I read Bill Carmichael’s column, August 25, with interest. As a regular commuter he is obviously frustrated like many others by the ongoing strike action.

He states that it's all about money. The RMT is also concerned with passenger safety and working conditions for their staff. No mention is made of the proposed closure of many ticket offices.

Bill refers to the pandemic lockdown and the fact that no rail staff were laid off. Perhaps he has forgotten how frightened many people were of leaving their homes.

Being on furlough was for many a welcome sabbatical from the grind of daily work. Yes, they had their pay docked, but there was nowhere to go to spend money and some were even able to save a little.

The rail workers along with many other workers who were deemed to be essential never had a break and had to brave going to work with the extra risk of being exposed to the virus.

Surely we should have learnt the value of all those whose work was deemed essential and now reward them properly.

It's time for the Rail Delivery Group to start delivering for its customers. They are taking taxpayers money and charging high fares for a very substandard service.

Most successful companies have good industrial relations and so their workers don’t have to resort to strike action.