Mick Lynch announces retirement as head of RMT

Mick Lynch, head of the country’s largest railway union, has announced his retirement.

He became general secretary of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers in 2021, and under his leadership the union staged a series of strikes over pay in 2022 and 2023, culminating in a deal with the new Labour government this summer.

Feted by supporters for his straight-talking style, he was attacked by critics for his £84,000 salary and for the disruption caused by the union’s industrial action.

In a statement, Mr Lynch did not give a reason for standing down but said it had “been a privilege to serve this union for over 30 years in all capacities”, adding it was now “time for change”.

Mr Lynch will stay in his role until May, when RMT members elect a new general secretary.

He said there was a need for a strong union for rail workers, but that a strong organisation needed “renewal and change”.

He said he was proud of serving the union, adding: “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.”

At 16, he left school and trained to be an electrician, before finding work in construction.

As industrial action ebbed and flowed in the 1980s, Mr Lynch became involved in a breakaway union and was secretly blacklisted by constructions companies, leaving him struggling to find work for years.

When the blacklist was exposed decades later, Mr Lynch was compensated with a cheque for £35,000, a copy of which hangs framed on his office wall.

He went on to found the Electrical and Plumbing Industries Union (EPIU) in 1988, before joining the RMT.

He took charge of the RMT at a time of deep internal divisions.

Mr Lynch’s predecessor as general secretary, Mick Cash, retired in 2020 after six years in the job, blaming a “campaign of harassment” by elements of the membership.

Mr Lynch was appointed acting general secretary, but soon stood down himself, accusing senior union members of “bullying” and creating “an intolerable, toxic atmosphere”.

He then returned and won election to the role permanently in May 2021.