RMT union boss Mick Lynch announces retirement

9 January 2025, 13:50 | Updated: 9 January 2025, 14:01

RMT boss Mick Lynch has announced his retirement after four years as the union's general secretary.

The 63-year-old, who was elected general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) in 2021, has become somewhat of a tailismanic figure amongst the left in the UK, leading his union through a series of pay strikes over the past two years.

Mr Lynch said he was “incredibly proud” to have served the union both as its chief and a rank-and-file member.

"It has been a privilege to serve this union for over 30 years in all capacities, but now it is time for change,” he told members.

"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.

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"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".

The union told members it will now begin the process to select a new secretary general, with a new official set to be in post by May.

Outside of the RMT, Mr Lynch has become a central voice in pushing for more unionisation across the British workforce.

Speaking in September last year, Mick Lynch called for a “return to the 1970s”.

The fiery rail union leader called for “the complete organisation of the UK economy by trade unions” as he slammed Keir Starmer’s Labour Party.

Mr Lynch said: “The problem at the moment is that the unions are not in every sector, effectively.

“We’re not in every workplace. We’re not able to influence non-union recognised workplaces, whereas up to the 1970s and 80s, we were.

“So if you went on a job as a construction worker that wasn’t organised, you tended to get the union agreement anyway, because it was enforceable by those workers.”

He continued: “And that’s the prize we’ve got to keep our eyes on – that union influence is universal across the United Kingdom, completely universal.

“The complete organisation of the UK economy by trade unions – that’s our aim.”

Mr Lynch added: “We never step back from organising workers and we won’t do so under a Labour Government, no matter how diluted this Act may become.”