The new leader of the country’s biggest rail workers’ union has pledged not to “take the foot off the gas” in the ongoing campaign for better pay and conditions in the industry.
Eddie Dempsey is the new general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), after the announcement by Mick Lynch that he is retiring.
No other candidate stood against Mr Dempsey, who will now hold one of the top jobs in the union movement at a crucial time for workers’ rights.
In an exclusive interview with the PA news agency, Mr Dempsey, 42, acknowledged the task he faces to follow in the footsteps of Mr Lynch, who became a familiar and popular media figure during strikes by railway workers under the previous Conservative government.
He stood alongside Mr Lynch on picket lines and at numerous rallies, so already knows the pressure and limelight he now faces.
But he said members and officials of the RMT shared the same ideology about fighting for better pay and conditions and against cuts.
“We are very similar in the RMT, everyone putting the case for our members in a very forthright, no-nonsense way.
“It’s a common theme from the shopfloor to officials. We have an army of reps and activists and I’m just another activist.
Mr Dempsey, who has effectively been Mr Lynch’s deputy, said he was pleased and honoured to be elected general secretary, continuing: “There will be no backward step or taking the foot off the gas. We are absolutely united in the direction of this union.
“We will continue to be a voice for working class workers.”
Mr Dempsey said wages and conditions have fallen for years and public services have been cut, issues he speaks passionately about wanting to reverse.
He is not a member of a political party and the RMT is not affiliated to the Labour party, but Mr Dempsey welcomed policies such as plans for state-owned Great British Railways which he hopes will spark more investment.
But he said other issues needed to be tackled, including bringing back into public control work which has been contracted out, including catering.
The RMT also represents bus workers and those in the maritime industry, both sectors where pay and conditions desperately need to be improved, said Mr Dempsey.
Mr Dempsey made a plea for an end to divisions in politics, and unions, in a bid to unite in favour of improving workers’ lives and boosting public services.
He said: “For the last 20 years we have focused laser-like on things that divide us – it’s true of the left as well as the right.
“The role of unions has to be a voice for unity, promoting a world of decent pay and jobs, a good education for our children, a health service that looks after people when they are sick and a pension giving dignity in retirement.”
The father-of-four, who grew up in south-east London, said he will be celebrating his appointment by playing bingo in his local social club with his wife.
“This is not about me, as far as I am concerned it will be business as usual.
“Anyone who thinks that because Mick Lynch is retiring we will go on the back foot, is mistaken. It’s business as usual.”
