The RMT leader praised Labour ministers and called for union influence over every workplace
Trade unions should have “completely universal” influence over the UK economy, the boss of one of the country’s largest unions has said.
Mick Lynch, the general secretary of the RMT, called for a return to levels of union power in the economy not seen since the 1970s.
At an event on the fringes of the Labour Party conference, Mr Lynch said: “The problem at the moment is that the unions are not in every sector, effectively.
“We’re not in every workplace. We’re not able to influence non-union recognised workplaces, whereas up to the 1970s and 80s, we were.
“So if you went on a job as a construction worker that wasn’t organised, you tended to get the union agreement anyway, because it was enforceable by those workers.”
In remarks reported by the Daily Mail, he added: “And that’s the prize we’ve got to keep our eyes on – that union influence is universal across the UK, completely universal. The complete organisation of the UK economy by trade unions – that’s our aim.”
It comes after Labour struck several pay deals with different sector unions to put an end to strikes within weeks of entering government.
Train drivers last week voted to accept a deal offered by Louise Haigh, the Transport Secretary, which union Aslef said was worth 15 per cent over three years.
Mr Lynch praised Ms Haigh, along with Angela Rayner as “leading individuals” who must be “supported by the movement” to deliver on their workers’ rights plans.
Last month, the union boss told The Times that his union expected a “parallel, synchronised offer” to that awarded to Aslef.
Reeves speaks of ‘pride’
The RMT boss made his remarks on the same day that Rachel Reeves told the Labour conference: “I am proud to stand here as the first Chancellor in 14 years to have delivered a meaningful, real pay rise to millions of public sector workers.”
She added: “We made that choice not just because public sector workers needed that pay rise, but because it was the right choice for parents, patients and for the British public.”
But nurses voted to reject the Government’s pay uplift of 5.5 per cent just as the Chancellor was delivering her speech.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative party leader, accused Labour of being “prisoners to the unions”.
Responding to Mr Lynch’s comments, the Conservative MP told the Daily Mail: “At the end of the day, the unions are Labour’s paymasters.
“[Labour] will end up capitulating again and again as they always have done.
“What we now know is that Keir Starmer’s government is going to look a lot more like Harold Wilson’s than Tony Blair’s. Wilson was a prisoner to the unions.”
