RMT
general
secretary


Mick
Lynch
is
to
retire
in
the
spring.

Mr
Lynch,
who
is
63,
will
step
down
in
May
when
his
successor
has
been
chosen.

An
electrician
by
trade,
his
railway
industry
career
began
when
he
joined
Eurostar
in
1993,
having
previously
helped
to
run
the
Electrical
and
Plumbing
Industries
Union,
which
had
been
expelled
from
the
TUC
for
making
unofficial
agreements
which
were
not
endorsed
by
other
TUC
unions.

He
said
he
was
‘incredibly
proud’
to
have
served
the
RMT
both
as
a
rank-and-file
member
and
an
elected
officer.
Before
he
became
general
secretary
in
May
2021
as
successor
to
Mick
Cash,
he
had
served
two
terms
as
assistant
general
secretary
and
two
terms
on
the
national
executive
committee.

Since
then
he
has
overseen
several
years
of
troubled
industrial
relations,
when
his
union
staged
numerous
strikes
over
pay.

He
said:
‘It
has
been
a
privilege
to
serve
this
union
for
over
30
years
in
all
capacities,
but
now
it
is
time
for
change.

‘This
union
has
been
through
a
lot
of
struggles
in
recent
years,
and
I
believe
that
it
has
only
made
it
stronger
despite
all
the
odds.

‘There
has
never
been
a
more
urgent
need
for
a
strong
union
for
all
transport
and
energy
workers
of
all
grades,
but
we
can
only
maintain
and
build
a
robust
organisation
for
these
workers
if
there
is
renewal
and
change.

‘We
can
all
be
proud
that
our
union
stood
up
against
the
wholesale
attacks
on
the
rail
industry
by
the
previous
Tory
government
and
the
union
defeated
them.

’RMT
will
always
need
a
new
generation
of
workers
to
take
up
the
fight
for
its
members
and
for
a
fairer
society
for
all
and
I
am
immensely
proud
to
have
been
part
of
that
struggle.’