Hackney school students show what they think of Labour's plans ers and other activists are organisA RIGHT wing offensive at this year's RMT AGM saw Pat Sikorski, the left candidate in the recent Assistant General Secretary elections, disciplined for supposed breaches of the election rules. Any further "infringement of rules" by Pat in the next three years would automatically result in him being debarred from holding any office in the union.
The witchhunt against Pat, led by General Secretary Jimmy Knapp and former left wingers on the national executive, has nothing to do with any breach of rule, and everything to do with the fact that Pat came close to winning and that he successfully exposed their own incompetence in the process.
However, the attack has given succour to forces in the union who want to fundamentally change the direction of the RMT. For them the next battle is now the election of the other Assistant General Secretary position, currently held by Bob Crow.
A right wing candidate is being heavily pushed by all those forces who have had their cosy relations with management upset by industrial disputes over the last few years. Unfortunately Bob Crow's attitude of sitting on the fence over Pat's situation has not helped him.
For the rest of the week at the AGM things went in a different direction.
Having centred their attack on Pat Sikorski, the right were unble to counter the pressure from the membership to be seen to be doing something about the crisis caused by privatisation.
At the political level, anger continues to rise over the way the Labour government has abandoned its promises. In response, the AGM almost unanimously agreed to work with those to the left of Labour, like Tommy Sheridan and Dennis Canavan in the Scottish Parliament who actually support RMT policy, whilst also reviewing the financial support given to Labour MPs to ensure the RMT only financially support those who are prepared to campaign for re-nationalisation movement in the Maritime Union; and closer to home developments inside the FBU, PCS, RMT, T&G and UNISolidarity needs your support - if you want to help, financially, submitting articles for future issues or by Witch hunter: RMT chief Fimmy Knapp of the railways. At the industrial level, the AGM pledged to fight to support members under threat. In particular a campaign was launched to defend Guards on trains, once again threatened by changes in the official Railway Rule Book put up by Railtrack.
After the RMT prepared for a ballot of all Guards nationwide Railtrack has now suspended the Rule changes for eight weeks "for further consultation". The RMT leadership has hailed this as a victory and suspended its ballot, but activists remain concerned that behind Railtrack's cosmetic changes the fundamental attack goes Un It is vital that the RMT leadership are not allowed to let this issue fade away. Branches and activists must apply pressure to ensure that the ballot - of all traincrew, not just guards - is reinstated unless Railtrack fully withdraw their proposals.