(better late than never) Day 2 of TUC started for me with a session in the hotel’s gym followed by a jog along a damp and windy Brighton prom. Congress started at 9.30am. First item again was a short general video celebrating “Union wins” includi…Read more…
Mick Lynch’s charisma is undeniable. As for his strategy and tactics, the jury’s out | Gregor Gall
Magnetic Mick is a smooth operator with a robust and radical message, but the RMT leader has arguably failed to stave off the government’s attack on rail workersIn late June 2022, as the first national rail strikes began, the RMT union leader, Mick Lyn…Read more…
“Comrades, Courage and Forward” – Support the RMT Strikers for Fair Pay & Job Security
Tomorrow members of the RMT union will be taking a second day of National strike action to support their claim for Fair Pay and Job Security. After years of wage restraint, the Railway employers are only offering a 2% wage increase this year, inc…Read more…
Freedom Riders in South Yorkshire keep the campaign alive
At noon today, the 27th March, South Yorkshire Freedom Riders are holding a public rally at Sheffield Train Station to celebrate their third anniversary of campaigning for free local train travel for…Read more…
20 years of defending the safety critical role of the guard
The current struggle in defence of the safety critical role of the guard is not a new one. The threat to eradicate this role began in 1997. Although the media has presented the issue as one of who will open the train doors, it is about who controls the train. In the event of a […]Read more…
Southern Rail – it’s about time you listened to your passengers
Meet Chris Hogg, a 36 year old lyricist from Sutton in Surrey. Every week Chris travels by Southern Rail, taking the train from Sutton to Ashtead to attend his music class. Chris is a wheel chair…Read more…
Southern Rail, ScotRail and red herrings
It’s often said that it takes two sides to make a dispute; it certainly takes two sides to end one. Last week during talks at ACAS, the RMT offered to suspend strike action at Southern Rail if the…Read more…
The Today Programme’s dodgy rail strike maths
This morning’s Today programme covered the industrial dispute at Southern Rail. Justin Webb talked live to his correspondent Ben Thompson at Victoria station (Listen at 47:38), who expressed…Read more…
Passengers want a properly staffed railway, not more driver-only-operated trains
“We were travelling on a Southern train from Shoreham by Sea to Southwick just after 11pm one night when the train suddenly stopped just short of Southwick. Someone had got onto the track, so the power was cut. The guards announced that the lights would be turned off to keep some power in the…Read more…
P&O Dispute Dover – Cardiff Seamen’s banner
Cardiff branch of the National Union of Seamen banner (now RMT) on the P&O Dispute march Dover August 1988
Cardiff Boilermakers union banner unveiled September 1893Read more…
Rail Rank & File – A Short History 1900-1917
Railway workers notes
L. Ever Before the 20th century railwaymen were considered to be the most submissive section of the wage workers.While miners and engineers had strikes the railroad…Read more…
Signal Failure – Rail privatisation & the fight against it
20 years ago I wrote a pamphlet for the Thames Valley District Council of the RMT. The text on the back page reads: “Rail privatisation is a universally unpopular measure save for a few ‘free market’ ideologues and managers looking to make a financial killing in line with the top…Read more…
Maritime and Offshore Jobs Worth Fighting For
On the 20-22 April the STUC Congress will be meeting in Ayr. The theme of this year’s Congress is Decent Work and Dignified Lives. In the run up to Congress this blog will host a series of…Read more…