Hypocrites at Work
Here's a post from the blog site archive on the £519,659 'golden goodbye' paid to the outgoing general secretary of Unite - Derek Simpson.
The story broke just ahead of the annual TUC congress in 2011 - but not a critical word was spoken by any of the trade unions or trade union delegates - about the fact that one of their number walked away with such a huge sum of the members' money.
Yet union leaders and Labour MPs are very quick to condemn the behaviour of greedy bankers - and, of course, the unbelievably generous 'golden goodbye' payments to senior BBC executives.
All of which seems incredibly hypocritical - if you ask me.
Golden Goodbyes (28 November 2011)
Funny how the subject is never brought up elsewhere in the news - or in the House of Commons - where Labour MPs queue up to denounce greedy bankers.
Unite's 'defence' of this extraordinary payment - is both ridiculous and insulting to ordinary members.
More than a year after the row erupted - no one seems willing to explain who authorised over £500,000 of the members' money to be paid to one individual - and why.
TUC News
Thousands of members of Unite, Britain's biggest union, are annoyed at its lawyers' decision to drop attampts to recover £361,347 paid to former joint-general secretary Derek Simpson as part of a controversial 'severance payment'.
Simpson left the union last year, pocketing a total farewell package off £519,659 (Eyes 1295 & 1296). With m'learned friends claiming the case was too 'finely balanced' to justify further action, irate members are none the wiser about how simpson was able topocket such a huge 'severance' payment when he had voluntarily resigned.
The union is sticking to the line that the payment was properly authorised in March 2008 by a meeting of the Amicus section of the general and purposes finance committee, chaired by one Steve Davidson. A promised affidavit by Davidson to that effect has yet to be produced.
Should it fail to appear, along with the record showing which union officer authorised the payment and when it left the union's bank account, disgruntled members are preparing to take their case to court and lodge a complaint with the trade union certification officer.
If such a complaint is upheld, the union's trustees - one of whom is Len McCluskey - could face removal from office - and Simpson could yet be forced to pay the money back."
Wednesday, 31 August 2011
Trade Union Fat Cats
The annual TUC conference takes place next month and some people - me for one - will be waiting with baited breath - to hear what the brothers have to say about the 'fat cat' behaviour of Unite and its recently departed general secretary - Derek Simpson.
Meantime the Private Eye has performed a service in keeping this issue in the public spotlight - while the TUC, Unite and all the other unions - try desperately to brush the whole affair under the carpet.
Here's what the Eye has to say.
TUC News - Pay daze
"Ker-ching!
Derek Simpson, former joint general secretary of Unite, hit the headlines when he topped the trades union rich list by pocketing a farewell package worth £519,659.
Alas, uncomradely elements in Britain's biggest union are questioning whether the £361,347 "severance" element of the package was properly paid. If not, they say, shouldn't he be obliged to give it back?
Simpson's severance payment was supposedly authorised at a meeting of the general purposes and finance committee (GPFC) of the former union Amicus in March 2008, prior to its full merger with the Transport and General Workers' Union, which created Unite. Some attendees of that meeting, however, have claimed that it wasn't properly constituted - the minute taker, for instance, having been asked to leave the room.
One person who was there, Aliatair Fraser, has written to Unite's general secretary, Len McCluskey, telling him that Simpson's severance payment was not discussed at the meeting, and no vote was taken.
The only mention of the subject was by Simpson's sidekick, Les Bayliss (Eyes passim), who at the time was one of several Amicus assistant general secretaries (AGS). Bayliss claimed the union "had looked after our enemies", a reference to severance payments made to officers who were unsympathetic to simpson and who had been forced out of the union before claiming "we should be generous to our friends". But no further discussion took place.
Other chums of simpson, such as another Amicus AGS, Ed Sweeney, have argued that Simpson should have received a severance deal based on a higher "notional" salary, rather than his actual pay.
Simpson retired at the end of an extended term of office and was not made redundant, so many Unite members are puzzeld as to how he could be entitled to any form of "severance" payment.
If the payment was in breach of union rules and nothing is done about it, activists such as Jerry Hicks - runner-up to McCluskey in last year's election for general secretary - are threatening to take legal action to recover the money. McCluskey, meanwhile, says he only heard about the severance deal recently and hasn't a clue who authorised it. Ordinary members are mightily reassured."
A key point to note here is that Unite the union - will be investigating this issue itself - just like the police used to do in the bad old days.
Unlike other areas of public life - trade unions are completely unregulated and there is no external independent figure to whom ordinary union members - or members of the public can takle a complaint.
Now this would matter if trade unions didn't have their fingers in lots of different pies - such as playing a decisive role in handing the leadership of the Labour party to Ed Miliband - the favoured candidate of the Unite leadership - and one Derek Simpson.
Unite is also Labour's biggest donor - and pours millions of pounds into Labour coffers - on a regular basis.
So a big step forward would be a independent regulator - with powers to investigate complaints against trade union bosses and union hierarchies.
Who at the moment feel free to 'lord it' over ordinary members - and treat their complaints with lofty disdain.
Meantime the Private Eye has performed a service in keeping this issue in the public spotlight - while the TUC, Unite and all the other unions - try desperately to brush the whole affair under the carpet.
Here's what the Eye has to say.
TUC News - Pay daze
"Ker-ching!
Derek Simpson, former joint general secretary of Unite, hit the headlines when he topped the trades union rich list by pocketing a farewell package worth £519,659.
Alas, uncomradely elements in Britain's biggest union are questioning whether the £361,347 "severance" element of the package was properly paid. If not, they say, shouldn't he be obliged to give it back?
Simpson's severance payment was supposedly authorised at a meeting of the general purposes and finance committee (GPFC) of the former union Amicus in March 2008, prior to its full merger with the Transport and General Workers' Union, which created Unite. Some attendees of that meeting, however, have claimed that it wasn't properly constituted - the minute taker, for instance, having been asked to leave the room.
One person who was there, Aliatair Fraser, has written to Unite's general secretary, Len McCluskey, telling him that Simpson's severance payment was not discussed at the meeting, and no vote was taken.
The only mention of the subject was by Simpson's sidekick, Les Bayliss (Eyes passim), who at the time was one of several Amicus assistant general secretaries (AGS). Bayliss claimed the union "had looked after our enemies", a reference to severance payments made to officers who were unsympathetic to simpson and who had been forced out of the union before claiming "we should be generous to our friends". But no further discussion took place.
Other chums of simpson, such as another Amicus AGS, Ed Sweeney, have argued that Simpson should have received a severance deal based on a higher "notional" salary, rather than his actual pay.
Simpson retired at the end of an extended term of office and was not made redundant, so many Unite members are puzzeld as to how he could be entitled to any form of "severance" payment.
If the payment was in breach of union rules and nothing is done about it, activists such as Jerry Hicks - runner-up to McCluskey in last year's election for general secretary - are threatening to take legal action to recover the money. McCluskey, meanwhile, says he only heard about the severance deal recently and hasn't a clue who authorised it. Ordinary members are mightily reassured."
A key point to note here is that Unite the union - will be investigating this issue itself - just like the police used to do in the bad old days.
Unlike other areas of public life - trade unions are completely unregulated and there is no external independent figure to whom ordinary union members - or members of the public can takle a complaint.
Now this would matter if trade unions didn't have their fingers in lots of different pies - such as playing a decisive role in handing the leadership of the Labour party to Ed Miliband - the favoured candidate of the Unite leadership - and one Derek Simpson.
Unite is also Labour's biggest donor - and pours millions of pounds into Labour coffers - on a regular basis.
So a big step forward would be a independent regulator - with powers to investigate complaints against trade union bosses and union hierarchies.
Who at the moment feel free to 'lord it' over ordinary members - and treat their complaints with lofty disdain.
