Howard Beckett, assistant general secretary of Unite, is among those vying to replace Len McCluskey
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Bob Crow, the late boss of the RMT transport union, was undoubtedly a controversial figure.
London commuters late for work due to seemingly endless Tube strikes would curse his name. Politicians and journalists who clashed with the left-wing firebrand would call him a “dinosaur” or, owing to his whopping £142,000 salary, a “champagne socialist”.
But when Crow died suddenly in 2014, it was notable how tributes came from not just those sympathetic to left-wing politics but from across the political spectrum.
Trade union hopeful calls on Scottish Government to improve pay for key workers
Gary Smith, from Paisley, has repeatedly called for better working conditions and pay for frontline workers.
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Gary Smith hopes to become general secretary for GMB later this month (Image: PA)
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Boris Johnson, social murder and the struggle against the Labour and trade union bureaucracy
The following report was delivered by Chris Marsden to the 2021 International May Day Online Rally held by the World Socialist Web Site and the International Committee of the Fourth International on May 1. Marsden is the national secretary of the Socialist Equality Party in Britain
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The call by the International Committee of the Fourth International for an International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees will resonate in every country. What our statement says accurately reflects the life experiences of the world working class.
Chris Marsden
Firstly, on the deadly cost of the pandemic, the murderous indifference of the ruling elite, how the capitalist class is using the crisis to rob us, ramp up exploitation and destroy lives and livelihoods.
Scottish trade unionist Christina McAnea was triumphant yesterday as she was named the first woman head of Unison. With 1.3 million members, the body is the biggest in the UK and 80% of the public sector workers it represents are female and in low-paying positions. But McAnea, the daughter of a Glasgow dinner lady, is the first woman to become its general secretary. From the city’s Drumchapel district, she counts firebrand Clydeside leader Jimmy Reid as an inspiration. She left school at 16, entered university at 22 and later became a housing officer. She said she was surprised to be the only woman running when she entered the race to replace outgoing Dave Prentis last year, and has now beaten her four male rivals after securing almost half of the vote.
Her victory comes amid tensions between Starmer and union leaders, many of whom have spoken against the suspension of Jeremy Corbyn from the parliamentary party. Elections will soon follow at the top of the second- and third-biggest unions in the UK, both of which are also major donors to Labour.
Len McCluskey is expected to announce he will stand down at Unite, clearing the way for a contest for control of the union.
The GMB union is without a general secretary after Tim Roache stood down amid allegations of misogyny, cronyism and sexual harassment at the organisation.
McAnea’s victory will come as a relief for those close to Starmer after she saw off candidates from the Labour left who had said they wanted to change the union’s financial arrangement with Labour.