The ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) is mourning the shockingly early death of our comrade Bob Crow, general secretary of the ITF-affiliated RMT, and ITF executive board member from 2002 onwards.
ITF acting general secretary Stephen Cotton said: “Bob was such a vital, tough, campaigning tower of strength that it’s almost impossible to believe that he is no longer with us. Bob was many things: a true fighter for workers’ rights, an internationalist and an inspiration to the last. He was also a close personal friend. We are all now wishing his partner and children well even as we try to accept his passing.
“His family’s loss is also his members’ loss and the world trade union community’s loss. Bob’s untimely death has left a giant gap in our lives, both personal and as a global activist. He never faltered from the certainty that the global trade union movement could make a difference to workers’ lives. His work mobilising international support for workers, including those of Cuba and Palestine, will live on.”
ITF president Paddy Crumlin said: “Bob Crow was a worker and a leader of the working women and men in his union, in his country and in the world. His unassailable courage, moral persistence , generosity of spirit and inevitable humour inspired and encouraged trade unionists, civil rights advocates and politically progressive human beings in every field of endeavour to be more effective and try harder for a better and more equitable life for all, regardless of race, gender, age or material circumstance
“Bob was unrelenting in the active prosecution of this vision of a better world. His commitment started with the seafarers and rail workers of his union the RMT and flowed inexorably into the lives of all working people seeking affirmation and justice in the face of often extraordinary deprivation and persecution.
“He spoke with the honesty and directness of his actions and commitments. He was above all a family man who understood that the real wealth and value of our lives also springs from a loving nurturing of those closest to us: our parents, partners children and extended family.
“Our deepest and most sincere sympathies and thoughts reach out to his wife Nicky and children at this most tragic and heart-wrenching point, in the hope that this may ease their great pain in some way.
“Vale Bob our great friend and comrade, constant source of our determination for a more just and humane world. A man greatly loved, respected and admired by all those that believe that the workplace and communities of our lives belong to the many and not just the few. A man of family and friendship. A true internationalist and constant advocate for peace and true justice for all. Now at rest.”
