MICK LYNCH: strikes, workers' rights & rail nationalisation

By Jon Snow

Snowcast

19/07/23·42m 1s

Mick Lynch is the General Secretary of Britain's largest specialist transport trade union, the RMT.

In May 2022, the RMT announced that its members had voted overwhelmingly in favour of strikes, in a dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.

At the time, they said it was the biggest endorsement of industrial action, by railway workers, since privatisation. But the dispute remains unresolved. And 20,000 railway workers will now walk out over three more days, on the 20th, 22nd and the 29th of July.

All this is set against a cost of living crisis, and a wave of industrial action that has included teachers, nurses, junior doctors, and university staff. And while the government has just made a pay offer to millions of public sector workers, they are also looking to curb strike disruption with a new bill.

In this interview, recorded on Monday 17th July, Mick reflects on a year of industrial action, the campaign to save ticket offices, the Strikes Bill, Labour policy, rail nationalisation and Brexit.