Ganging Up

Here's an amazing trade union story from Private Eye, the UK's best and only fortnightly satirical magazine.



The last Eye's story about trouble among the flight attendant members of the Unite union annoyed general-secretary Len McCluskey no end.

We reported how the watchdog Trade Union Certification officer (Tuco) had ruled that branch of Unite representing trolley dollies and Ollies, the British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association (Bassa), had submitted seven invalid nominations to the Unite executive committee. 

Furthermore, Unite had allowed Lizanne Malone, a former chair of Bassa and staunch McCluskey supporter, to sit on the Unite executive for seven months, from May to December 2014. 

Rather than take action against the Bassa branch responsible for the invalid nominations or Malone, McCluskey and his allies have turned their guns on David Beaumont, a rank-and-file member whoi has posted details of the shenanigans on his website (dearunite.com). 

Shortly after the last Eye appeared Beaumont was was told by Andrew Murray, McCluskey's chief of staff, that Unite was launching an "investigation into his activities. This follows complaints made to Murray by Lizanne Malone, Adrian Smith, the Bassa branch secretary where the invalid nominations originated, and Sean Betty, who took over from Malone as chair of the Bassa branch.

The three, who all copied their emails to McCluskey, allege Beaumont breached Rule 27.1.5 "brining about injury to or discredit upon our Union or any member of the Union".

In her email to Murray, Malone asks: "How much more evidence is needed to expel this individual from our union?", adding: "I have made my concerns known repeatedly to you and Lenny(sic)."

Beaumont has amusingly counter-complained, under the same rule, claiming the officials acted in a way which "resulted in the union losing a case at the Certification Office which was then publicly reported in Private Eye magazine edition 1395 June 2015, which brought discredit and injury upon the union".

Now if you ask me this sounds like a terrible case of bullying against a Unite member who is simply expressing his views about the publicly reported failings of his own trade union - something that could also end up in front of the Trade Union Certification Officer, if Len McCluskey and his chums don't come to their senses.

I know what it's like when a trade union hierarchy tries to gang up on someone, so I think I'll drop David Beaumont a note and offer my support.