Mick Lynch broadcasts retirement as head of RMT

Mick Lynch, head of the nation’s largest railway union, has introduced his retirement.

The 63-year-old grew to become basic secretary of the Nationwide Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Employees in 2021, and below his management the union staged a sequence of strikes over pay in 2022 and 2023, culminating in a cope with the brand new Labour authorities this summer time.

Feted by supporters for his straight-talking model, he was attacked by critics for his £84,000 wage and for the disruption brought on by the union’s industrial motion.

Mr Lynch didn’t give a purpose for standing down however mentioned it had “been a privilege to serve this union for over 30 years in all capacities”, including it was now “time for change”.

Mr Lynch will keep in his function till Might, when RMT members elect a brand new basic secretary.

He mentioned there was a necessity for a robust union for rail staff, however {that a} robust organisation wanted “renewal and alter”.

He mentioned he was happy with serving the union, including: “This union has been via a number of struggles in recent times, and I imagine that it has solely made it stronger regardless of all the chances.”

At 16, he left faculty and skilled to be an electrician, earlier than discovering work in building.

As industrial motion ebbed and flowed within the Nineteen Eighties, Mr Lynch grew to become concerned in a breakaway union and was secretly blacklisted by constructions firms, leaving him struggling to seek out work for years.

When the blacklist was uncovered a long time later, Mr Lynch was compensated with a cheque for £35,000, a duplicate of which hangs framed on his workplace wall.

He went on to discovered the Electrical and Plumbing Industries Union (EPIU) in 1988, earlier than becoming a member of the RMT.

He took cost of the RMT at a time of deep inner divisions.

Mr Lynch’s predecessor as basic secretary, Mick Money, retired in 2020 after six years within the job, blaming a “marketing campaign of harassment” by parts of the membership.

Mr Lynch was appointed appearing basic secretary, however quickly stood down himself, accusing senior union members of “bullying” and creating “an insupportable, poisonous ambiance”.

He then returned and received election to the function completely in Might 2021.