Gregor Gall is a visiting professor of industrial relations at the University of Leeds. He is author of Mick Lynch: The Making of a Working-Class Hero.
Head of Britain’s RMT rail union Mick Lynch has in recent years become a household name. His stout defense of his members has won him wide acclaim — yet his newfound fame also reflects just how rare such voices are in British public life.
Tony Blair’s government introduced a national minimum wage for the UK 25 years ago. When it comes to lifting people out of poverty, the minimum wage law has been a clear failure — its enforcement has been lax, and it’s never kept up with the cost of living.
The wave of strikes demanding better workplace protections shows labor’s impressive resilience faced with the COVID-19 crisis. Social distancing and the rise of homeworking are blocking off many traditional forms of collective action — but also bringing about new ways of pressuring employers.
In 1980s Britain, miners went on strike in support of nurses’ pay claims, throwing their industrial muscle behind under-pressure hospital staff. After decades of harsh anti-union laws, Labour’s manifesto promises a way to rebuild this culture of solidarity.
Three years after his death, British trade union leader Bob Crow continues to provide an example of militant working-class leadership.