A large rally took place outside Liverpool Lime Street station this afternoon on the last of three days of strike action which has paralysed the rail network.
Among those joining the approximately 200 people present was Royle Family star Ricky Tomlinson, along with local MPs Dan Carden, Ian Byrne, Kim Johnson and Paula Barker - who defied Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer's instructions for MPs not to join picket lines.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) called three 24-hour strikes this week, on Tuesday, Thursday and today (Saturday), although the knock-on effects meant that train services were disrupted throughout the week.
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Liverpool was just one of many sites up and down the country where rallies took place as RMT general secretary Mick Lynch joined workers on a picket line outside Euston Station in central London this morning. Speaking to the PA news agency, Mr Lynch called on Grant Shapps to "tone down the rhetoric and get on with his job" in order to settle the bitter dispute over jobs, pay and conditions.
He urged the Transport Secretary to engage in "constructive" talks with the unions amid little sign of a breakthrough in the deadlocked row.
It comes after Mr Shapps said the union's claims that he was "wrecking" negotiations by refusing to allow Network Rail to withdraw redundancy threats was a "total lie".
Mr Lynch hit back on Saturday, saying: "We haven't made any false claims. The railway last week was down by 80%, that has an effect that we don't particularly want to deploy and they are losing revenue commercially and that hurts them and it hurts our people because they've lost their wages.
"We don't want that. So if Grant Shapps wants to be constructive that's what he can do. He needs to tone down the rhetoric and get on with his job which is to settle this dispute."
Mr Lynch confirmed that RMT were "not ruling out strikes" but added they have not put any dates down for further action.
He said: "We're going to review with our national executive next week who have been all the way the country this week on the picket line so we're all going to get together, the leadership of the union, and see where we are."
"We are not going to name dates immediately and we're going to continue working constructively with the companies to strike a deal but that is a really steep challenge at the moment because of the agenda they've got and the effects they want on our members."
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "The Transport Secretary has consistently urged union representatives to get back around the negotiating table and agree a deal to bring our rail industry into the 21st century. Strikes should always be the last resort, not the first, so it is hugely disappointing and premature that the RMT went ahead with industrial action, which caused significant upheaval to the lives of those they claim to stand up for.
"The Government earmarked £16 billion to keep our railways running throughout the pandemic while ensuring not a single worker lost their job but the network remains on life support, with passenger numbers 25% down and anything that drives away even more of them risks killing services and jobs. Train travel for millions more people is now a choice, not a necessity and these strikes simply stop our more customers choosing rail, potentially never to return.
"We urge the RMT not to carry out any further action so we can find a solution that delivers for workers, passengers and taxpayers alike."
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