As tens of thousands return to the streets for the first national Palestine march of 2026, this movement refuses to be sidelined or silenced, says PETER LEARY
FOR Eddie Dempsey, RMT’s assistant general secretary, the destruction of Britain’s maritime sector is an act of national self-harm — one the union is determined to reverse.
With Nautilus and the TUC, it’s working on a mandatory seafarers’ charter — not just to prevent more scandals like the illegal mass sacking of workers by P&O ferries two years ago, but to rebuild one of the country’s proudest working-class industries.
“My father was a deep sea sailor who sailed out of the port of London. There’s no more deep sea sailors in Britain. The people that are working in the maritime sector are retiring, there’s no training provided to bring new people in,” he told journalists on the fringes of a union rally last week.
Ben Chacko talks to RMT leader EDDIE DEMPSEY about how the key to fixing broken Britain lies in collective sectoral bargaining, restoring unions’ ability to take solidarity strike action and bringing about the much-vaunted ‘wave of insourcing’
Incoming Usdaw general secretary JOANNE THOMAS talks to Ben Chacko about workers’ rights, Labour and how to arrest the decline of the high street
RMT leader Eddie Dempsey's stark warning shook up a fringe meeting at the Scottish TUC



