Hello and welcome to today's independent travel podcast with me, Simon Calder,

and you probably don't need me to tell you that there is another train strike on the ninth day

of national strikes since June, called by the RMT Union.

And I want to talk about the union boss because Mick Lynch, who is the general secretary

of the RMT, is very much an interesting media figure, but he's also an interesting person.

And crucially, he also has quite a lot of say in when and how and weather we finally get past the mess that at the moment we seem to be living in with national strikes coming out of our ears.

Of course, Tuesday, Wednesday, then Friday then Friday Saturday this week then we sort of

start into the festive engineering work so then by the time we get out of that there's another

one third and fourth and then the sixth and seventh of January so what with the disruption on

the 8th of January things might get back to normal by about the 9th of January, which is a Monday in almost four weeks time.

And Mick the Grinch is how he has been described in the media, but I wanted to try and put a bit of colour on that label.

I don't think that anybody can accuse him of anything other than fighting very ferociously for his members' benefit.

And he does that, I would say, more successfully than any other union leader. Now, clearly I know

rather more about the travel sector than I do about other trade union leaders, but he, well,

certainly ahead of Mick Wheelan, who I know and like, who's the train driver's leader. And what Mick Lynch

does is absolutely answer questions from anybody. And for example, half past six this morning,

I turned up on the picket line at Houston, just to say hi to the men and women who were there.

I know where they normally go.

It's on the steps just down from Marks and Spencers, and that's where they turn up.

So I was quite surprised to see him there.

That early in the morning, it was very, very cold.

But as always, I said, Mick, can I have a word?

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