Union Grows after Cutting Labour Ties
Worker Independence | 30.06.2004 00:25
The biggest rail workers’ union has increased its membership by more than 3,000 since being thrown out of the Labour Party, it was revealed today.
By Alan Jones, Industrial Correspondent, PA News
The biggest rail workers’ union has increased its membership by more than 3,000 since being thrown out of the Labour Party, it was revealed today.
The Rail Maritime and Transport Union now has over 70,000 members and is one of the few trade unions in the country which is growing.
General Secretary Bob Crow also estimated that fewer than 300 RMT members were in the Labour Party.
The union is planning to take legal action to challenge a decision by Labour that it had effectively disaffiliated itself because it was giving financial support to other political parties.
The RMT, which left Labour in February, is still sending affiliation cheques to the party but they are being returned.
Mr Crow, speaking at his union’s annual conference in Portsmouth, accused Labour of “totally shutting down” democracy within the party.
“The only argument they have left is that everyone should unite because otherwise it will let Michael Howard in.”
Mr Crow also urged the TUC to become more “robust” in its campaigning and said many of his members were questioning the relevance of the trade union centre.
“Instead of sitting back and waiting for something to happen they should lead from the front. They have to change their stance. We have had seven years of a Labour Government and they have gone along with partnership but have lost hundreds of thousands of members.
“The TUC believes that if you are as nice as pie to the employers they will give you better pay and conditions.”
The union’s president Tony Donaghey told the conference that the days of “blind loyalty” from workers to a Labour Government had gone.
The biggest rail workers’ union has increased its membership by more than 3,000 since being thrown out of the Labour Party, it was revealed today.
The Rail Maritime and Transport Union now has over 70,000 members and is one of the few trade unions in the country which is growing.
General Secretary Bob Crow also estimated that fewer than 300 RMT members were in the Labour Party.
The union is planning to take legal action to challenge a decision by Labour that it had effectively disaffiliated itself because it was giving financial support to other political parties.
The RMT, which left Labour in February, is still sending affiliation cheques to the party but they are being returned.
Mr Crow, speaking at his union’s annual conference in Portsmouth, accused Labour of “totally shutting down” democracy within the party.
“The only argument they have left is that everyone should unite because otherwise it will let Michael Howard in.”
Mr Crow also urged the TUC to become more “robust” in its campaigning and said many of his members were questioning the relevance of the trade union centre.
“Instead of sitting back and waiting for something to happen they should lead from the front. They have to change their stance. We have had seven years of a Labour Government and they have gone along with partnership but have lost hundreds of thousands of members.
“The TUC believes that if you are as nice as pie to the employers they will give you better pay and conditions.”
The union’s president Tony Donaghey told the conference that the days of “blind loyalty” from workers to a Labour Government had gone.
Worker Independence
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