Rail unions

The 2026 AGM of the National Union of Rail, Maritime, and Transport workers (RMT) took place in Liverpool from 21-26 June. Delegates re-affirmed support for the union’s main campaigns and policies such as combatting assaults against staff, an end to outsourcing and fighting for pay restoration.

Most station staff in my Tube station know very little about the upcoming train crew strike. The union’s messaging clearly hasn’t made much headway, and 48 hours before it starts, lots of them are none the wiser about why it’s happening. “Something to do with them having a four-day week? But I don’t see why you’d strike over that”. In conversation, this isn’t hard to iron out. When I explain that the proposal includes things like changing start times and locations at short notice, nobody is hostile, and most agree that the RMT union is right to strike. But their information has largely come...

The regional TUC conference had elected all officers (including president and two vice-presidents) unopposed, so a challenge to a clause in a motion calling for more funds for the British Transport Police was quite the shock to the delegates.

From Tubeworker Rail union RMT has suspended strikes planned for March, after London Underground (LUL) agreed to further talks. The decision, taken by the union’s National Executive Committee, followed a meeting of driver reps from depots across the network. Those who supported the decision to suspend the action argued that management’a offer of further talks represented a qualitative shift in the company’s position. Whereas previously they had claimed their “four-day week” scheme was non-negotiable, they’re now saying they will negotiate after all. A minority of reps disagreed, arguing that...

Drivers in the RMT union on London Underground (LUL) have called six days of strikes over three months, starting 24-25 March, against the imposition of a longer working day and shorter notice of shift changes, supposed to deliver a “four-day week”. Rank-and-file bulletin Tubeworker welcomed the decision to call three rounds of action, rather than the usual: call some dates, wait and see, then work out what to do next. That kind of action has lost momentum in past campaigns, allowing the company to set the pace. With an imminent “pilot” of the longer working day on the Bakerloo line, there is...