his will be my final editorial

T his will be my final editorial column in RMT News as your general secretary but as you will see from this jam- packed issue the personnel may change but the battles for jobs, pay, conditions and safety the length and breadth of our industries continue apace. As a union we have been well aware that as the emergency measures during more than a year of the pandemic begin to unwind we can expect the attack on workers to intensify as the employers seize the opportunity to go on the offensive. That is exactly what is happening right now. On Network Rail we have launched a new No Cuts campaign as we fight back against an assault on jobs, maintenance works and the safety culture on our rail infrastructure. We can expect the moves on Network Rail to be mirrored on the train operating companies in the months ahead and we need to be ready for that. The tube will face similar threats. We are already seeing attacks by local management on our activists and on working conditions. Our shipping, offshore, bus and road membership are also right in the front line now. Ferry companies are eyeing up jobs, pay and pensions as they look to exploit the crisis with some seeking to break union organisation once and for all. But as I sign off this column for the last time, we should remind ourselves of just what we have achieved together in hostile conditions. Our members and their jobs have been defended workplace by workplace. That hard graft day in and day out by our well-trained local reps is the lifeblood of this trade union. We have faced the full might of rail bosses and the Tory government in their joint attempt to impose Driver Only Operation. They wanted to smash our union and the guard’s grade once and for all.  It has been one of the longest disputes in our history, and the fight carries on of course, but what a credit it is to our members who have held that line on rail safety that we have beaten back the attack on the guard grade. We have successfully challenged the philosophy that the railway should have less staff.  Today there is widespread support for RMT's position that cutting rail staff damages safety, service and accessibility whatever the grade. We have fought to ensure that most of our members wages have risen in line with or above the inflation. We won the argument that the railway is essential to our economy and climate. It could not be clearer that privatisation has failed, Network Rail has been nationalised and two nations, Wales and now Scotland, are taking rail back into public ownership. Moreover, our campaigning for public control of buses is starting to bear fruit. On maritime we defeated plans to privatise Calmac Ferry services in Scotland, won the long-standing campaign to extend the minimum wage to seafarers, secured a collective recognition agreement in the Offshore sector and are well placed to move more widely into the rapidly expanding renewable sector. We are the union with one of the highest, if not the highest, public profiles in the country, punching way above its weight industrially and politically.  So much so that the Tory government introduced the Trade Union Act in 2016 to stop us from defending our members, they failed. Whilst most other unions have struggled with falling membership, in the last six years our net membership increased by 6,000 to levels not seen in this union since the 1990’s.  Our membership is changing with over 50 per cent having joined the union since 2014. We have a union which is at its most diverse in our long history with 17 per cent of our members women and 17 per cent from BAME groups.  Yet there is more to do. We have been both able to expand our services to members. RMT is one of the few unions to have its own legal department and we have also massively expanded our education capacity, significantly increasing the number of reps we train each year to an average of 1000 a year.   We have kept the union in a strong financial position at the same time as providing affordable subs for our lower paid members. None of this would have been possible without the commitment loyalty and skill of our members, representatives, activists who defend and strengthen the union by their individual and collective acts every single day and also the hard work, dedication and professionalism of our officers and staff.  My personal thanks to each and every one of you. I step aside as we come out of this global pandemic whose impact has and will have far reaching consequences for us all.  Our union is 150 years old this year and we have a history of navigating our way through difficult times.    Our history tells is that we will continue to thrive but only if we choose unity instead of internal rows and factional fights. By keeping relevant to our members and ensuring that we reflect the union we are today not yesterday.  We are at our best when we work together, stand together and fight together. Through difficult times I have sought to strengthen the union’s foundations and to keep it focussed on what matters, our members and their workplaces.  After joining our union 42 years ago as an 18-year-old track worker, who had left school with very little qualifications but grew as person thanks to my union, all I can do now is wish you all well for the future under a new general secretary. Final words for my wife and family without whom I couldn’t have achieved so much.    Thank You.   RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: april 2021 :: RMTnews 3 RMT News is compiled and originated by National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers, Unity House, 39 Chalton Street, London NW1 1JD. Tel: 020 7387 4771. Fax: 020 7529 8808. e-mail bdenny@rmt.org.uk The information contained in this publication is believed to be correct but cannot be guaranteed. All rights reserved. RMT News is designed by Bighand Creative and printed by Leycol Printers. General editor: Mick Cash. Managing editor: Brian Denny. No part of this document may be reproduced without prior written approval of RMT. No liability is accepted for any errors or omissions. Copyright RMT 2016 When you have finished with this magazine give it to a workmate who is not in your union. THANK YOU EDITORIAL