TRADE UNION SIPTU has presented a €20,000 donation on behalf of members to UK rail union leader Mick Lynch.

The union said the donation was made to the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) general secretary “in a gesture of solidarity with striking rail workers in the UK”. 

Siptu general secretary Joe Cunningham presented the cheque to Lynch at the Imperial Hotel in Cork alongside Siptu deputy general secretary Ethel Buckley and Mary O’ Sullivan, Siptu honorary president.

Cunningham “congratulated Mick Lynch for the impressive manner with which he has articulated the demands of his members during their ongoing dispute and the views and frustration of working people in Britain over the soaring cost of living”, the union said.

Lynch is currently visiting to Cork, his father’s home city, and will attend a Cork City FC game in Turners Cross tonight.

He has shot to prominence in recent months for calmly crushing politicians and interviewers alike. 

RMT have called four national strike days in the UK since 21 June and two more are planned for later this month.

Members of RMT will walk out on 19 August, in between strikes on August 18 and 20 on Network Rail and 14 train operators in the long-running row over pay, jobs and conditions.

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