Your Union - Your Voice

Vote YES to keep your Political Fund – Ballot opens 16th September.

Your union needs to keep its Political Fund so that it can keep campaigning on the issues that affect you at the workplace, such as defending jobs, pay, conditions and pensions.

The law states that unions must have a separate Political Fund to pay for this and unions are required to hold a postal ballot of all members every ten years to keep the right to have a Political Fund.

If the union doesn’t have a Political Fund, we won’t be able to effectively campaign on any of these issues. The employers are not required to have a political fund and spend millions lobbying against your interests. Without the political fund we will not be able to speak on your behalf. We’ll be fighting with one hand behind our back.

The RMT Political Fund is formed by deducting money from members’ union subscriptions. This is known as the “political levy” and amounts to just £3.12 a year, the equivalent of 26p a month.

The ballot is not about political affiliation, or if members pay into the fund – members are voting on the basic right to keep the Political Fund so your union can keep campaigning on your behalf.

In the last RMT Ballot in 2014, a strong campaign by RMT members returned a 96% vote in favour of keeping the Political Fund.

Winning a YES vote in the 2024 ballot is vital to allow us to defend the rights which we have already won for RMT members and to ensure that we can continue to campaign for new rights and improvements. These include:

1. Better pay with reduced hours

2. Protecting pensions

3. Defending jobs and conditions

4. More rights at work

5. Improved health and safety

We will commence our ballot on 16th September 2024 and will close on 21st October.

RMT is campaigning to make sure that a majority of those members who vote, return a YES to keep the Political Fund.

Campaign materials can be downloaded from this webpage or ordered from info@rmt.org.uk

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The Four key arguments for the Political Fund:

1. The Political Fund is not about affiliation to political parties. It is about the union being able to campaign on the bread and butter issues that matter to our members in the workplace.

2. The Political Fund has already allowed the unions to win campaigns to protect jobs, pay, conditions and pensions and to win concessions on such issues as employment rights, hours at work, pensions and health and safety.

3. In the future the political fund will be used to defend and advance these rights and to support other campaigns, such as job security and better terms and conditions, public ownership and investment for public transport, travel facilities, opposition to outsourcing, repeal of anti-union laws and a new deal for workers.

4. If the union doesn’t have a Political Fund, we won’t be able to effectively campaign on any of these issues. The employers are not required to have a political fund and spend millions lobbying against your interests. Without the political fund we will not be able to speak on your behalf. We’ll be fighting with one hand behind our back.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q What is the Political Fund?

A The law says that unions must have a separate Political Fund to spend on political campaigning. This could include a newspaper advertising campaign in support of public services, lobbying for better legal rights for workers, calling for better pensions or holding a rally to protect jobs. Members choose whether or not to contribute through a ‘Political Levy’.

Q How much is the Political Levy?

A The political levy is £3.12 a year or 26p a month.

Q Shouldn’t unions concentrate on defending members’ rights at work?

A That's exactly what the union does – seeking wage improvements, negotiating better terms and conditions, defending jobs, representing you at legal, medical or disciplinary hearings. But the decisions and laws made by politicians affect members' interests at work. For example, pensions, employment rights, jobs and public services are all affected by political decisions. So unions must be able to campaign in the political arena.

Q Who decides how the Political Fund is spent?

A The elected RMT National Executive Committee decides how the money is spent. The NEC is accountable to members through the elected Annual General meeting. This democratic accountability ensures that when money is spent, a clear benefit can be seen for the union’s members.

Q But doesn’t all the money go to political parties?

A No. The union spends some of its Political Fund to support the campaigns of political organisations and politicians who support our policies. This ensures the voice of members is heard within the law-making process and to bring influence to bear. The vast majority of the fund, however, is used to campaign on the bread and butter issues that affect members at work. This ballot is not about affiliation to political parties – nor is it about what we do with the Political Fund – we are just voting on the basic right to keep it.

Q Why are we having a ballot?

A Under a piece of legislation introduced by the Conservative Government in 1984, unions not only have to ballot their members to set up a Political Fund but also have to vote every ten years on whether or not to keep the Political Fund.

Q If I vote Yes does it mean I have to pay more?

A No. In fact, every member has the right to opt out of paying into the Political Fund whenever they want. A Yes vote just means that the Union keeps its Political Fund, so you keep your right to choose.

Q If I don’t pay the political levy, why should I vote Yes?

A Voting Yes means that those members who wish to pay into the Political Fund can continue to do so. It does not mean you begin to pay into the Political Fund. Every member of the Union, political levy payers and non-payers alike, has a vote to decide whether or not to keep the Political Fund working for members. If you don’t want to contribute to the Political Fund, you don’t have to – you have the right to opt in or out of paying the levy whenever you want. It is important, though, that you vote, and that you vote YES, so that all members can benefit from the Union’s political campaigning.

Q Who can vote in this ballot?

A All members of the Union, whether they pay the political levy or not.