Militant RMT union boss Mick Lynch announces he is retiring

by · Mail Online

Mick Lynch today revealed he will retire from the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) union aged 63 after four years as its £140,000-a-year general secretary.

The militant boss became the face of railway strikes that have brought misery to passengers in recent years amid long-running rows with train operators over pay.

His regular calls for industrial action infuriated travellers across Britain and saw him dubbed the 'Grinch' and 'The Hood' after the villain in 1960s TV show Thunderbirds. 

Mr Lynch was elected RMT general secretary in 2021 having also served two terms as assistant general secretary and two on the union's national executive committee.

The London-born union leader earned a total of £139,660 in 2023 according to the RMT's latest annual return. This included a total of £96,838 in gross salary, £12,320 in employer's National Insurance contributions and £30,501 in pension contributions. 

The qualified electrician worked in the construction industry for many years before helping set up the Electrical and Plumbing Industries Union (EPIU) in 1988.

Mr Lynch joined the RMT after he began working for Eurostar in 1993, and said he was proud to have been both a rank-and-file member and an elected officer.

RMT union general secretary Mick Lynch outside at London Euston station in January 2023
People queue for buses outside London Liverpool Street during an RMT strike in August 2022
Empty platforms at London King's Cross railway station in August 2022 during an RMT strike
Some dubbed Mick Lynch 'The Hood' after the villain in 1960s TV show Thunderbirds

In a statement released this afternoon, Mr Lynch said: 'It has been a privilege to serve this union for over 30 years in all capacities, but now it is time for change. 

Read More

Avanti train managers get set for strikes that will see them walk out EVERY Sunday until May

'This union has been through a lot of struggles in recent years, and I believe that it has only made it stronger despite all the odds.

'There has never been a more urgent need for a strong union for all transport and energy workers of all grades, but we can only maintain and build a robust organisation for these workers if there is renewal and change.

'We can all be proud that our union stood up against the wholesale attacks on the rail industry by the previous Tory government and the union defeated them.

'RMT will always need a new generation of workers to take up the fight for its members and for a fairer society for all and I am immensely proud to have been part of that struggle'.

Mick Lynch poses for a photograph inside the RMT offices at London Euston in May 2022
Mick Lynch speaks at the May Day trade union rally at Writers' Square in Belfast in April 2023
Mick Lynch outside Parliament demanding more funding for public transport in December 2021

The RMT said its national executive committee had adopted a timetable for the election of a new general secretary which will finish in the first week of this May.

Read More

Sadiq Khan wants to offer WFH workers free coffee to lure them back on Tube

Mr Lynch beat three other candidates in an election in May 2021 to lead the RMT, where he had previously been assistant general secretary.

He replaced Mick Cash, who said at the time that he was retiring following a 'campaign of harassment' against him by factional groups within the union.

The election had been triggered after Mr Cash announced in October 2020 that he was standing down, citing a campaign of bullying and abuse within the union which he said made it impossible for him to do his job.

Mr Cash was elected in September 2014 after Bob Crow died aged 52 from a suspected heart attack in March that year.