Rail strikes: how are businesses in the Midlands coping ?

Train strikes across the country have entered their second day, with businesses warning that lowered footfall could impact trade.

Rail workers from National Rail and other operators have walked out on what is a second day of industrial action this week, as they call for a pay rise and better job security.

The government has called the strikes "unnecessary" and the Transport Secretary has rejected union claims that he intervened to stop train companies from negotiating with striking workers.

Whilst there was no official strike action yesterday, train services were severely disrupted.

One taxi driver, whose business depends in large part on train pick-ups, said "as the trains are not travelling, they're [rail users] not going."

"They're not going out are they, they're not going to town, or going shopping or going to appointments or going to work."

Pictures taken from ITV News Central's reporters on the road show empty cafes and restaurants - like this in Leicester

Issues are particularly pronounced for businesses struggling to recover after the pandemic, where outlets across the region lost millions of pounds as custom vanished over successive lockdowns.

As business owners look to the future, many believe that strikes on Saturday could prove the most harmful, given usual high levels of footfall over the weekend.

"Saturday's our busiest day by a mile," said David Bott, a pub owner in Stoke-on-Trent.

"But what we've done in the past has done really well in the week for commuters. But since COVID has happened we don't see as many commuters and the leisure business is all what we do now."

"So yeah, missing a Saturday is terrible."

> How rail strikes will impact each train operator on Thursday

It's not clear when strikes will end. The leader of the RMT Union Mick Lynch earlier said that a planned strike day on Saturday is "likely" to go ahead. The union has threatened further strike action over the summer if a satisfactory deal isn't met.

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