Rail unions

Rail, Maritime and Tranposrt Union (RMT); Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF); Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA)

Rail women fight back

Rail workers on fourteen train operating companies, Network Rail and London Underground have been taking strike action over the summer. On the national railway, they are demanding a pay rise to make up for two or three years without any increase, a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies, and no detriment to their working conditions. On London Underground – where there is already a contractual right not to be made compulsorily redundant and workers have had an inflation-plus pay rise this year – they are fighting against job cuts, threats to their pensions, and attacks on working conditions...

RMT election: vote Daniel Randall!

Solidarity contributor Daniel Randall is seeking nominations for the London Transport seat on the National Executive Committee of the rail union RMT. The ballot will run 31 October to 4 December. Daniel has worked on the Tube as a Customer Service Assistant at Oxford Circus since 2014, has held   several union positions, and is co-organiser of the Free Our Unions campaign. In his letter seeking nomination Daniel says he will work for “RMT’s culture of rank-and-file democracy [to be] deepened and extended, with as much power as possible in the hands of members, in the workplace”. He commits...

London Underground dispute: we must strike again!

There’s a pretty clear consensus across the job that we need to strike again in response to the settlement with the government agreed by Transport for London (TfL) on 30 August that makes funding conditional on reforming pensions, holding down pay, making further operational cuts, and moving towards driverless trains. Let’s announce dates as soon as possible, and let’s escalate beyond 24 hours. How about two days in September, three in October, four in November…? With the cost-of-living crisis biting, we know a lot of us will feel the pinch, especially as Christmas approaches, but that can be...

Over a thousand at London RMT rally

Probably over a thousand people packed into the Save London Transport rally organised by the RMT on 31 August. The main hall at the TUC headquarters was packed, there was an overflow room and people were struggling to get in. No doubt a lot had come to see and hear left-wing US Senator Bernie Sanders. In addition to RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch, we also heard heard from John McDonnell MP, a CWU Royal Mail striker, a disability rights activist and representatives of sister London transport unions ASLEF, TSSA and Unite (among others). The turnout was not the only good thing about the rally...

Diary of a trackworker: But it's not in the KPIs

It’s often the little things that get to you: not having the right equipment, no tech support when you need it, and management who don’t seem to care unless it’s on a computer screen and affects the "Key Performance Indicators". Just recently, we’ve had the spectacle of no lubricant available in our stores. For maintaining points, supplies a minimum requirement. Even though we’ve recently had no rain, which tends to wash the oil off, the need to lubricate is still there. In we come one night, and due to perform the points-lubrication maintenance. Before we left the depot I checked the back of...

Where next in the national rail dispute?

This is a discussion article from a supporter of Off the Rails. We welcome responses and debate.


RMTs NEC will meet on 1 September to discuss the next steps in the national dispute over pay and conditions with Network Rail and the Train Operating Companies (TOCs). The Executives of the other...

Make clear demands!

The question of what a given strike’s exact demands are – and in some cases, whether it even has any specific demands – must also be contested by socialists seeking to develop rank-and-file independence. In the RMT’s disputes on national rail, the union says it is fighting for “a substantial pay rise”, without specifying a figure. This has allowed the media to run away with a casual remark by Mick Lynch noting that, at the time of the Network Rail pay anniversary, inflation was at 7%, and present as fact the claim that “RMT is asking for 7%”. The lack of a specific demand also enabled some RMT...

Transport workers discuss co-ordination

Between 18 and 20 August more than 50,000 transport workers will strike. RMT members in Network Rail and the Train Operating Companies are out on 18 and 20 August. RMT members on London Underground and London Overground will strike on 19 August alongside 1,600 Unite bus workers at London United, who continue their strike action on 20 August. London Overground workers are striking for a decent pay increase. The bus workers have rejected a deal from RATP, the French company that owns London United of 3.6% pay increase for 2022 and 4.2% for 2023, clearly well below current and projected inflation...

Off The Rails, August 2022: Stop New Anti-Union Laws!

The new issue of Off The Rails calls for action to stop the Tories' renewed attack on the right to strike. It reports on rail workers' ongoing strikes, calling for co-ordination between the different unions involved. And it reports on the crisis on Avanti West Coast, Scotrail workers' rejection of the latest company offer, and the extension of RMT cleaners' strikes. Click the file name below to open and download it. Please print it and distribute it to railworkers in your area.

Off The Rails, July 2022: Step up the Action!

The new edition of the printed Off the Rails bulletin is out now. This edition looks ahead to RMT and TSSA action on 27 July, and Aslef strikes on 30 July.

Click here to download the PDF, or click on the attachment link below.

If your printer struggles with collating/resizing the pages, the...

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