SIGNALLING SUCCESS

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: may/june 2025 :: RMTnews 12 Outgoing general secretary Mick Lynch received an enthusiastic welcome from signal workers at their recent meeting in Buxton when he thanked them for their support during his time in office and the national dispute. “Most members hadn’t been involved in industrial action before and we inspired other workers. We came out of it the most respected union in the movement,” he said. Reminding delegates of the scale of the industrial action, where at one point the union had 53,000 members on strike, Mr Lynch then explained the scale of the assault on the union by the former Conservative government. He said that it had planned to change the way industrial relations were conducted, including the ending collective bargaining, which the union’s actions had successfully stopped happening. Instead, much of the union’s longstanding goal to bring the industry into public ownership is now being carried out by the current Labour government. RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey paid tribute to his predecessor saying that the union was in a healthy state with a growing membership of 81,500 and good financial health. He outlined the union’s plans under his stewardship with a radical digital transformation project that will result in an advanced RMT activist platform. This will mean significant improvement in important campaigning tools like peer- to-peer texting and phone banks among other things. He said that the way the union organises a campaign would change and more focused on organising the grade. The biggest national campaign would be an industrial and political campaign over insourcing jobs so that cleaners, caterers and other workers can be brought in house. He outlined how the Greater British Railways (GBR) project would end much of the private involvement in passenger rail services. This would mean that the union would not be dealing with profiteers but directly with the British state. “This requires a new approach to industrial relations, but it also mean that workers can make their voices heard and could bring the railway to a standstill if RMT signalling and operations grades meeting in Buxton discuss organising workers SIGNALLING SUCCESS