AS VOTING in the elections in the RMT for both General Secretary and one of the Assistant General Secretary positions continues, it is clear that incumbent General Secretary Jimmy Knapp has been more than a little shaken by the strength of the campaign in support of left candidates Pat Sikorski (for AGS) and Greg Tucker (for GS).
Knapp's Own incompetence has been highlighted by serious errors in the AGS ballot. Though the election is run on a Single Transferable Vote, the ballot paper implies that people only have one vote. Calls have been made for the election to be re-run and this is the most likely outcome. This embarrassment comes hot on the heels of a similar disaster - last December an election for an executive member had to be re-run after one candidate's election statement was "lost".
Over the last weeks there has been a flurry of coverage of the elections in the national media, aimed at red baiting the two challengers. In general this is likely to act in favour of the left; a vote for them can't be wasted if they are worrying their oppoPrescott's plans to privatise the Tube have helped win support for the left When the Evening Standard implies that the bosses of privatised rail companies are very worried that Tucker could be elected, this is likely to motivate members to go out and vote for him.
Even if they didn't say it, LUL would be less than enthusiastic about a Pat Sikorski victory, given the sterling role he is playing in the fight against privatisation. As we go to press, it is expected that two more days of strike action will be called for March 17-18. One story that does need replying to is the allegation, made in the Sunday Times on February 28th and repeated elsewhere that behind the candidatures is a plot to make Arthur Scargill head of the RMT.
Crazy you say? But the story refers not only to minutes of an RMT executive meeting, but also a comment from Downing Street (so it must be true, mustn't it...).
What the press don't tell you is that the proposal that they have dressed up in this way; that is a proposal for merger talks between the RMT, UCATT and NUM had no real resonance among RMT activists when it was made in 1996, and has been dead in the water ever since. So much for objective journalism.
The confidence of the left has been strengthened by this campaign as the candidates have spoken at meetings across the country, as they have received support from branches and individuals they might not have been counting on.
This unity and enthusiasm will need to be built on if RMT members are to resist the constant attacks from their employers.