Latest news with #MickLynch
The National
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Mick Lynch to join Scottish rock band at Edinburgh show
Glasgow's The Tenementals, a group of academics, artists, and musicians who tell the city's radical history and untold stories through song, will be joined by special guests at their Portobello Town Hall gig on May 3. Mick Lynch, former Secretary-General of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), will deliver May Day Greetings, which will mark International Workers' Day. Lynch, who received extensive attention whilst leading the RMT in a series of strikes in 2022-23, appeared alongside The Tenementals at The Revelator Wall of Death in the former Barclay Curle shipyard in March 2023. READ MORE: Scottish refugee charity hits out at Glasgow's call for asylum seeker pause The former union leader was keen on the Glasgow band playing one of their songs, which references the famous figurehead of the Clyde shipyard workers, Jimmy Reid. Gladman, who will feature in the forthcoming BBC Scotland sketch show Good for Her, will also appear on the evening alongside Scottish Poetry Library Young Makar, Leah Sinforiani. Singer and founder of The Tenementals, David Archibald, said he is 'delighted' that Lynch will be joining them to deliver the speech. 'When we performed alongside Mick Lynch in The Revelator Wall of Death, it was an unforgettable event,' he said. (Image: The Tenementals) 'We had only played two gigs previously when Stephen Skrynka, who had built the wall of death with a group of volunteers, approached us about appearing alongside Mick in The Revelator. 'He was keen on us singing 'Universal Alienation (We're Not Rats)', a song which references Jimmy Reid, the trade unionist famous for being the figurehead of the Clyde shipyard workers when they organised the world-famous work in on the yards in 1971. 'We were honoured and delighted to do so. The Revelator is relatively small, so we had to keep secret the fact that Mick was appearing, but there was an extraordinary buzz about the place when it dawned on the attendees who was going to be speaking. It was, in anyone's book, a special night. 'After the event, we kept in touch and explored future collaborations.' Archibald, who is also a professor of political cinema at the University of Glasgow, added: 'We are delighted now that Mick will deliver May Day Greetings to our event. It promises to be another extraordinary event.' The National previously told how the band is best described as Leonard Cohen meets The Clash, and that the eight-piece aims to breathe fresh life into the city's past. The Tenementals aim to retell Glasgow's 'radical history' through punchy riffs and self-proclaimed 'banging' lyrics. The band's back catalogue includes songs about the statue on the Clyde dedicated to the people who fought in Spain during the Spanish Civil War, the 1820 radical republic uprisings, and the famous trade union activist Jim Reid, and a plethora of some of the most important working-class stories from the city. Click here for tickets and more information for the show on May 3.
The Guardian
06-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
What a leftwing leader needs to do to earn credibility
Owen Jones makes the case that a credible leftwing leader needs to win over alienated voters and dodge culture wars (The left needs to halt the UK's slide into Farageism. This is the kind of leader who could do it, 3 April). That starts by rejecting the terms left and right – where people sat in revolutionary France's national assembly does not accurately define today's politics. The leadership team of any new political movement must convince voters of two things. One: 'I trust these people to run the country.' Two: 'They have got my back.' Economic credibility requires exploding the austerity myth. Speaking as someone who ran an arm of government – successfully – I found that when you make the case, people, including businesspeople, think it's common sense. That keeping kids in poverty is economically illiterate. That investing in health and education makes us all wealthier in the end, and happier too. That public ownership will lower utility bills and improve services. That the climate crisis is real, and we must invest in a resilient future or see our economy crippled. Having someone's back means saying that we won't throw you under the bus for an easy headline. We will put your right to a secure home above your landlord's right to make a quick buck. We will put your kid's mental health above the right of global corporations to avoid regulations. We will fight your corner when you're victimised for being disabled, or black, or LGBTQ+. There is a truth to why governments can't afford to invest. Money flows to very, very rich people. They make 8% to 12% a year from parking money in big tech, utilities, property, finance and care homes, while the rest of us do the work and actually generate the wealth. That money needs to be taxed to pay for the safe, sustainable, prosperous society that everyone DriscollFormer North of Tyne mayor Owen Jones is right to some extent – a populist left with a charismatic front person is badly needed. However, his suggestion of Mick Lynch as such a leader is laughable. A new populist left alternative needs to think radically and organise broadly, connecting with and building alliances between social actors who are philosophically and/or theoretically critical of Labourism and the labour movement, especially the macho, workerist tendency that Lynch and others represent. Jean-Luc Mélenchon's La France Insoumise is a good example of a project with some populist potential that is failing to break out of such a straitjacket. We should learn from SamphierBeckenham, London I agree with Owen Jones that Mick Lynch would be the ideal candidate to take on Labour from the left and stave off the sinister threat of Reform. However, I would suggest that, in the absence of Mr Lynch wanting to take up this mantle, the Independent Alliance should form into a political party and merge with the Greens and those seven Labour MPs recently suspended from the party for voting against the retention of the appalling two-child cap. Such a new party would not only be 15 MPs strong – three times the size of Reform's parliamentary presence – but would represent those predominantly middle-class former Labour voters who have turned to the Greens in disgust at Starmerism, and the traditional white working-class demographic in the 'red wall' seats and other similar constituencies. Only such a unified party of the left can hope to stave off Reform and provide the 'broad church' that Labour likes to tell us it is but so woefully is not, as the party's lurch to the right under Keir Starmer leaves us in no doubt as to where its priorities now WaltonBath Do you have a photograph you'd like to share with Guardian readers? If so, please click here to upload it. A selection will be published in our Readers' best photographs galleries and in the print edition on Saturdays.
BBC News
05-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Merseyrail: Union boss calls for service to be nationalised
The leader of the UK's main transport union Mick Lynch has called for Merseyrail train services to be put into public was confirmed earlier this week that the train operator company could be given the chance to extend its terms beyond the end of its contract in 2028. But Mr Lynch, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers' (RMT) Union, said re-privatising the service would be a "betrayal" of passengers. The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority said "all options are being explored" about the future of the rail service. Mr Lynch said he intends to ask Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram to bring the service in house in three years time. He said: "Since the contract has started in 2003 an eye-watering £212m in dividends has been fleeced off in profits, money that could have been spent cutting fares and improving services, as well as insourcing outsourced contracts." In 2003, a concession was awarded to a joint venture of Serco and then Abellio, known as Merseyrail Electrics (2002) Ltd to run the region's trains. City region leaders will begin the process of deciding who is best to provide services for the thousands of passengers who use the rail network every single extension proposal has been received from Merseyrail, and if members agree combined authority officers could then enter into negotiations with the to a report to go before the combined authority later this week, initial exploratory dialogue with Merseyrail has indicated "there could be a number of significant benefits from the proposal over and above the existing agreement." A significant public subsidy for the network is provided by the Department for Transport (DfT) and any decisions would require consultation with central government.A statement from the combined authority said: "We are obligated to investigate and equally evaluate all options so the right decision can be made in good time."It said its first priority was the delivery of "high performing, high quality, value-for-money rail service. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram, and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
Telegraph
04-03-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Tube drivers to keep gold-plated pensions after Sadiq Khan bows to unions
Tube drivers will still be able to retire at 60 on their gold-plated pensions after Sadiq Khan bowed to union pressure by scrapping a planned overhaul of the scheme. Rail workers took six days of strike action in 2022 and 2023, in part due to changes being proposed to their lucrative pension deals which could have seen them working for five years longer. But the rail union, RMT, confirmed this week no changes would be made to the scheme in what it described as a 'huge victory' over Transport for London (TfL). An underground driver who has worked for TfL for 40 years can expect a pension income of nearly £50,000. But in 2020, a review into the pension fund was launched by the Mayor of London with an aim to save £100m a year. Discussions included moving rail workers on to less generous plans similar to those offered to MPs and NHS workers. TfL also considered increasing their retirement age from 60 to 65. Mick Lynch, the general secretary of RMT, said: 'This is a huge victory for our members who showed tremendous tenacity to stand together to defend their pensions. 'We were told these cuts were inevitable, but our members' determination has ensured that these attacks on pensions have been thwarted.' He added: 'This win proves that when workers are organised and willing to take strike action, they can defeat even the most determined attacks on their rights and living standards. 'RMT will continue to stand ready to take action to protect our members if any such attacks on pensions or terms and conditions come to pass in the future.' The TfL fund, which has 85,439 members, is a generous final salary pension scheme, offering a 60th of a tube driver's salary for every year of service. For a tube driver who works at TfL for 40 years, this would be equivalent to two thirds of their final salary – or £46,788, if they retire on the current salary of £70,182. TfL pays contributions of 10.5pc of salary for new starters – with employees contributing 5pc. The transport body pays 11.67pc for existing staff. The fund had a surplus of £3bn at its latest valuation in March 2024, with auditors estimating that it had a funding level of 125pc. A 2022 review, chaired by Sir Brendan Barber, a former trade union official, found that TfL could save up to £154.4m a year by switching to a Career Average Revalued Earnings (Care) scheme. Other public sector schemes, including that for MPs and NHS workers, have switched to Care in the last decade. Another consideration was to put tube drivers on the Local Government Pension Scheme offered to council staff. In 2023, the unions agreed with TfL that no changes would be made until September 2026, but last month it was confirmed that the pension review team had been totally disbanded. Tom Selby, of pension provider AJ Bell, said: 'The pensions enjoyed by tube drivers are incredibly generous final salary arrangements – the sort that most private sector workers could only dream of. 'The fact these are going to be maintained, including the retirement age of 60, will be seen as a huge victory for employees and Mick Lynch, the RMT trade union's firebrand boss. 'It may also be a reflection of the improved funding position defined benefit schemes have enjoyed in recent years, in large part as a result of shifts in gilt yields which have reduced the accounting value of liabilities.' Pensions can be taken at 60 with no reduction, annual payments will be linked to the retail prices index, rather than consumer prices index and TfL will be on the hook for any future deficits. The victory comes days after Aslef called off some planned strikes on London's Elizabeth line after rejecting a pay deal of £76,000. Almost 500 drivers had been set to walk out during March. A spokesman for Transport for London said: 'As part of our funding agreements with the last government, we were required to carry out a review of the TfL Pension Fund. Extensive work was carried out and we have always held the position that 'do nothing' remained an option throughout the process. 'No requirement on pensions featured in our most recent capital funding agreement with the new Government and our view is that the original condition has now been met. There are no plans being developed or actively considered by TfL to change the TfL Pension Fund.'
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tube drivers to keep gold-plated pensions after Sadiq Khan bows to unions
Tube drivers will still be able to retire at 60 on their gold-plated pensions after Sadiq Khan bowed to union pressure by scrapping a planned overhaul of the scheme. Rail workers took six days of strike action in 2022 and 2023, in part due to changes being proposed to their lucrative pension deals which could have seen them working for five years longer. But the rail union, RMT, confirmed this week no changes would be made to the scheme in what it described as a 'huge victory' over Transport for London (TfL). An underground driver who has worked for TfL for 40 years can expect a pension income of nearly £50,000. But in 2020, a review into the pension fund was launched by the Mayor of London with an aim to save £100m a year. Discussions included moving rail workers on to less generous plans similar to those offered to MPs and NHS workers. TfL also considered increasing their retirement age from 60 to 65. Mick Lynch, the general secretary of RMT, said: 'This is a huge victory for our members who showed tremendous tenacity to stand together to defend their pensions. 'We were told these cuts were inevitable, but our members' determination has ensured that these attacks on pensions have been thwarted.' He added: 'This win proves that when workers are organised and willing to take strike action, they can defeat even the most determined attacks on their rights and living standards. 'RMT will continue to stand ready to take action to protect our members if any such attacks on pensions or terms and conditions come to pass in the future.' The TfL fund, which has 85,439 members, is a generous final salary pension scheme, offering a 60th of a tube driver's salary for every year of service. For a tube driver who works at TfL for 40 years, this would be equivalent to two thirds of their final salary – or £46,788, if they retire on the current salary of £70,182. TfL pays contributions of 10.5pc of salary for new starters – with employees contributing 5pc. The transport body pays 11.67pc for existing staff. The fund had a surplus of £3bn at its latest valuation in March 2024, with auditors estimating that it had a funding level of 125pc. A 2022 review, chaired by Sir Brendan Barber, a former trade union official, found that TfL could save up to £154.4m a year by switching to a Career Average Revalued Earnings (Care) scheme. Other public sector schemes, including that for MPs and NHS workers, have switched to Care in the last decade. Another consideration was to put tube drivers on the Local Government Pension Scheme offered to council staff. In 2023, the unions agreed with TfL that no changes would be made until September 2026, but last month it was confirmed that the pension review team had been totally disbanded. Tom Selby, of pension provider AJ Bell, said: 'The pensions enjoyed by tube drivers are incredibly generous final salary arrangements – the sort that most private sector workers could only dream of. 'The fact these are going to be maintained, including the retirement age of 60, will be seen as a huge victory for employees and Mick Lynch, the RMT trade union's firebrand boss. 'It may also be a reflection of the improved funding position defined benefit schemes have enjoyed in recent years, in large part as a result of shifts in gilt yields which have reduced the accounting value of liabilities.' Pensions can be taken at 60 with no reduction, annual payments will be linked to the retail prices index, rather than consumer prices index and TfL will be on the hook for any future deficits. The victory comes days after Aslef called off some planned strikes on London's Elizabeth line after rejecting a pay deal of £76,000. Almost 500 drivers had been set to walk out during March. A spokesman for Transport for London said: 'As part of our funding agreements with the last government, we were required to carry out a review of the TfL Pension Fund. Extensive work was carried out and we have always held the position that 'do nothing' remained an option throughout the process. 'No requirement on pensions featured in our most recent capital funding agreement with the new Government and our view is that the original condition has now been met. There are no plans being developed or actively considered by TfL to change the TfL Pension Fund.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
