RMT will seek to build alliances and strength with other trade unions in order to remove all the draconian legislation holding workers back, general secretary Eddie Dempsey told the union’s AGM.

Delegates passed two motions on campaigning for the adoption of sectoral collective bargaining where the union operates and pushing the government to remove bans on sympathy strikes.

Mr Dempsey spoke at length about current laws, praised the idea of statutory e-balloting and railed against the injustice of workers not being legally allowed to take strike action in support of others in a separate trade dispute.

“I’m going to be really blunt here, I do not want any trade union legislation,” he said.

“I couldn't care less about thresholds because we beat those with better campaigning. We don't want them but they are not biggest problem.

“What I want is the ability to take my members out on strike from nought to the cobbles as fast as possible.”

He pointed out the notice periods required under anti-trade union legislation were all “nonsense” and should be scrapped as they were biggest obstacle to workers taking action.

“It prevents us from being able to respond like lightning when our members are under attack,” he said.

Referring to the P&O scandal and the fact the union was restricted in what kind of support it could legally show, Mr Dempsey said: “If any employer in a sector behaves like P&O, we want to be able to bring our members out in the entire sector.”