Greg Tucker, RMT Executive member
Rail infrastructure workers in the RMT continue their campaign of industrial action for decent pay and conditions around the country.
London Underground members continue to press the case for a halt to the privatisation of their jobs. Behind the scenes, though, there are problems which the left of the RMT must seriously address.
RMT activists must support Mick Atherton for President - Organise to defend Steve Hedley
RMT members must seize the chance to build a fighting, democratic union through the campaign for the reinstatement of victimised members and the current elections for the union’s President.
Steve Hedley, key local representative at Euston depot, was sacked and now faces criminal charges for supposedly attacking a scab van on a strike day and threatening a supervisor. It is quite clear that the charges are ridiculous – his only offence is to be an effective picket organiser. The Union has quite rightly refused to continue negotiations with his bosses, GTRM, until he is reinstated.
However, events following Hedley’s victimisation have shown serious weaknesses in the union. Immediately after the sacking, fellow workers at Euston took unofficial action. Instead of offering support, the general secretary, Jimmy Knapp, wrote to all GTRM members repudiating the action.
The Euston workers have now been balloted and are taking official action, but Knapp’s initial response was clearly unacceptable.
To make matters worse Knapp refused to allow the Executive to discuss the repudiation in case we refused to back his line. He need not have worried – it was clear that some members of the "left" on the Executive were relieved not to be allowed to make a decision.
At the same time, the company- level lay representatives have been doing their best to drop all support for Steve. Many did not want a strike in the first place, and sought an excuse to call all action off.
One effect of privatisation was to move the centre of negotiations away from the Executive to this layer of company-level lay representatives. Union structures and left organisation do not reflect these changes, meaning that the rank and file is unable to call its representatives to account. The left must start now to organise to win control of union representatives – at all levels.
The first task is building support for Steve Hedley. GTRM members at Willesden and Stonebridge Park as well as at Euston are being balloted for industrial action. The next strikes are likely to be on the weekend of October 31-November 1. The picket lines need our support. Meanwhile, Steve is touring the country speaking at meetings. Make sure he is invited to your Branch.
The national leadership must offer backing - by attempting to draw out the political lessons involved, linking the campaign for Steve’s reinstatement with the campaign for the repeal of the anti-trade union laws and exposing the real weakness of Labour’s "Fairness at Work" proposals.
Instead, although the union has been helping Steve financially since his dismissal, the Executive refused to fund his travel to win support for the strikes.
With the election of RMT President under way, some members of the Executive have decided that it is in their interests to moderate their actions in order not to damage their electability.
They have also dodged confrontation with Knapp on internal issues, particularly on financial questions, and gone along with his views on political matters. Decisions were fudged before Labour Party conference so as not to embarrass him too much in front of the Labour leadership.
The left needs to campaign in the President’s election for the one candidate, Mick Atherton, prepared to stand up to Knapp and to put forward a program to organise the members in defence of the union. Mick Atherton, currently on the Executive representing the Midlands, was the force behind the infrastructure dispute.
His platform is one of building a fighting democratic union – to mobilise the membership to campaign for re-nationalisation of the railways and stop Tube privatisation, halt bus deregulation and defend our shipping members from union-busters, the likes of P&O.
In particular, he has argued for the need to sort out union finances and rebuild union organisation to secure the union’s survival. This will involve organising to confront Knapp, who has been prepared to allow a continual slow decline in the union’s fortunes rather than upset his base in the bureaucracy.
Mick’s campaign is complicated by the fact that, despite the fact that he is open about his SLP membership, it is other SLP members on the Executive who have been behind the backsliding, and who have decided to support another candidate.
While their action has found little support among other left activists in the Union, it is important that the SLP gets its act together, especially as soon after the President’s election is over, the positions of Assistant General Secretary and General Secretary will be coming up for election.
How the left responds will determine the future of the union, even its survival, for years to come.
For further information on Steve Hedley’s and Mick Atherton’s campaigns or to arrange for either of them to come to address a local meeting contact me at RMT Head Office on 0171 387 4771.