Bob Crow may increase his power over the rail industry after the RMT trade union announced merger talks with its closest rival, the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA).
A combined RMT and TSSA would have 110,000 members and cover all roles across the rail network from train drivers to signallers. One prominent critic of trade union activism labelled the move a "Gordon Gekko-style takeover" that threatened disruption for commuters.
The merger talks, long-mooted in labour movement circles, have taken on renewed urgency in the wake of a report into cutting industry costs by Sir Roy McNulty, former chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority, which threw down the gauntlet to trade unions by calling for reform of working practices and an end to inflation-busting pay increases. The industrial temperature was raised further this week when Network Rail, the owner of Britain's rail tracks and stations, indicated it will shed 4,000 signallers over the next decade.
The RMT said: "The McNulty review has forced the pace on this. It has focused attention on the fact that we are facing the biggest attack on the railways since privatisation."
Crow, RMT general secretary, welcomed a "historical day" for the trade union movement while his TSSA counterpart, Gerry Doherty, said bringing the unions together would "protect workers in the very uncertain future that they currently face".
However, a Conservative MP who has led calls for stronger regulation of trade unions warned that a successful merger would increase the threat of strike action on the railways and the London Underground. "This will be a Gordon Gekko-style takeover by Bob Crow, not an act of fraternal solidarity," said Dominic Raab MP. "With TSSA and RMT spoiling for a fight, it is an attempt to strengthen union opposition to vital reforms to UK rail infrastructure – and it heightens the risk of strike action for passengers."
A rail industry source admitted that "a certain amount of nervousness" could be sensed among rail industry executives, amid expectations that if the merger talks are successful Crow will emerge as leader of the combined entity because the blue-collar RMT has about 80,000 members compared with 30,000 at the more moderate and white-collar TSSA.
"Barely a month goes by when the RMT does not threaten industrial action somewhere, whereas the TSSA tends not to take such an aggressive approach to strike action," said the source.
One trade union source said a merger faced significant hurdles, as indicated by the unions' respective attitudes towards strike action. "Politically, both unions are poles apart," said the source, pointing to the TSSA's close links with the Labour party, whereas the RMT was expelled by Labour in 2004 for its links with the Trotskyist Scottish Socialist party.
The source stressed that the official statement also referred to both unions working together through a "federation structure" that would allow much closer co-operation "with a view to moving towards a merger".
The RMT and TSSA have worked together recently, despite tough rules on joint walkouts, by staging joint strike action on the London Underground.
Nonetheless, trade unions are being driven into mergers for financial as well as strategic reasons. According to the Office for National Statistics, trade unions lost 179,000 members last year, leaving a total membership of 6.5 million. Britain's largest trade union, Unite, is launching cut-price memberships for students and the unemployed as it seeks to widen recruitment from workplaces to local communities. The former head of Unite, Tony Woodley, has also warned that the union movement's finances are being hit by falling membership. Against that backdrop, the RMT is a success story, having gained around 30,000 members since Crow was elected leader a decade ago. In contrast, the TSSA has flatlined, staying at 30,000 members since the middle of the last decade.
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