Mick Lynch has perfectly summed up why trade unions are so important - amid Tory attacks on pay deals struck between the new Labour government and striking workers.
Agreements have been reached with unions representing train drivers and junior doctors following two years of industrial actions.
But the Conservatives have accused Labour of giving in to the demands of their “trade union paymasters”.
In a video posted on X, RMT general secretary Lynch insisted trade unions were a vital part of society - and highlighted the major advances for working people that they have spearheaded over the past century.
He said: “What we’ve got to remember is trade unions exist in every society - they’re almost an organic development.
“And if you look at where we’ve progressed from, we had a world where we were virtually serfs.
“We’ve developed an idea where we have regulations at work. So health and safety regimes itself were brought in through trade union campaigning.
“The Factories Act, the ending of children’s exploitation and the ending of many deaths at work. Thousands of people used to be killed in Britain at work every year.
“The very idea of the weekend is a trade union idea. Public holidays. Sick pay. Holiday pay itself. Pensions. Statutory education for our children. And then the jewel in the crown, of course, is the National Health Service.
“So all of that stuff stems from the trade union movement, and we can’t afford to lose it as working class people.”