Banned on eve of branch elections

Evan Pritchard - centre  - with cloth cap

Was it fair to issue complaints just before election?

  ON Wednesday the 28th, March,  the Unite Greater Manchester Community Branch convened for its tri-annual AGM amid some consternation about the banning of two of its members.  I had just bought some hot cross buns from Booths near Media City and I thought I'd pop in to give my comradely greetings at the Community Branch meeting at the Unite Salford Quay's office. 

To my surprise, as I entered the canteen just as pandemonium erupted I was to learn during the various loud verbal altercations and banter about the suspension of two Community Branch members from the AGM.  In the commotion it became clear that on the eve of the AGM meeting that Mr. John Pearson and Mr. Chris McBride, had both been served with letters informing them that they were subject to a complaint of such magnitude that they were now under investigation, and consequently according to the union's disciplinary process under Rule 27  'should be suspended from holding any office or representing the Union in any capacity, pending the outcome of that investigation'.

Curiously they were served  with these orders, the very day before the two men were running for office at last night's AGM.  John Pearson was standing for election as chair against the present incumbent Evan Pritchard.  Last night, this ruling was interpreted as meaning that both Mr. Pearson and Mr. McBride were not allowed to attend the meeting, and thus their nominations for officer positions were not put to the branch meeting and Evan Pritchard was elected unopposed.

Why is such a heavy hand being employed to proceed with a complaint under Rule 27:4.?

Why were written notices only delivered on the very eve of the AGM?  When Rule 27:4 clearly states that
'A member shall be given written notice ...... of any such suspension as soon as is reasonably practicable.'

After all the North West Region Finance and General Purposes Committee that ruled on this complaint, met on Tuesday, 20 March 2018, and the notices to the suspending Pearson and McBride from holding office were only delivered on Tuesday, 27 March.  Oddly this was the day before the branch elections.

This is troubling coming as it does on the heels of another recent ruling by the Assistant Trade Union Certification Officer that in the case of McFadden v Unite: 'Breach of union rule decision'; where it was found that the union had acted beyond its powers in trying to legislate on the activities of individuals at a private event.  In the Pearson and McBride case under Rule 27:4 .1 'A member under disciplinary investigation may not attend: meetings of his/her own branch'.  This has been the case since the Unite Rule Book was been updated in 2015.

People of fair minds may wonder here if this additional sub-rule 27:4.1, might not be mis-applied, perhaps by people of vindictive or vexatious intent to invent complaints to ban others whom they might not take a shine to for whatever reason; political or personal?   

In the Pearson and McBride case under consideration here, one must wonder about the timing of the issuing of these notices on the brink of the elections for AGM positions for which they had been nominated for office. 

Unite's Rule 27 does not state that a member will be suspended from participating in branch elections, it merely says the 'Regional Committee may suspend a member under this rule from holding any office or representing the Union ...'.  This does not seem to prevent a member standing for office, because any complaint against the member may fail and the suspension could well be lifted.  Hence, one may ask why were Pearson and McBride prevented from standing for office at  last week's AGM of the Unite Greater Manchester Community Branch ? 

******

On Bro. Pritchard's Penchant for Mr. Carillion

Editor:  

The post below was sent to Northern Voices by 
Mr. Pearson, a member of  Unite Greater Manchester 
Community branch.
We understand that this branch has been under investigation
by the North West Region of Unite owing to a series of 
complants by members.  Until the regional authorities of
Unite have determined what problems exist in this branch,
if any, the editors of NV have no views on this matter, except 
to say that we support the freedom to publish.
******
 by John Pearson

I THINK it is deplorable that Bro. Pritchard, the Chair of the Unite Greater Manchester Community branch should post such abusive material on the public internet.

He might have disliked the reference to the late Councillor Quinn in your article on the deep embedment that Carillion had in Tameside Council and the consequent repercussions in that borough of the firm's collapse.  A reasonable commentator would have complained at what you published but to call the publishers "lowlifes" is ad hominem excess at its extreme.

Not only is Bro. Pritchard's action deplorable but it is highly hypocritical since he and his supporters in the Unite Greater Manchester Community Branch officer's group have insisted upon, not only banning Bro. Chris McBride, for over a year now, from the branch's official Facebook group but they have also - unconstitutionally (per the decision of the Unite North West Regional Deputy Secretary, dated 18 January 2016) - removed Bro. McBride from his elected position as the branch's press and media Officer (Communications Liaison Officer) role.  Their primary charge against Bro. McBride was that he allegedly made ad hominem attacks on branch officers on social media.

******

Mr Evan Pritchard's Yellow Brick Road Approach

Britain's Yellow Brick Road to Socialism

FOR a more detailed look at the CPB {Communist Party of Britain), it's history, theory and policies, please take a look at the official party programme, "Britain's (Yellow) Brick Road to Socialism".  Evan Pritchard the loyal party member that he is, has written the curiously brave comment below on the post entitled  'Tameside, the costs add up as receivers move in' about the local scandal involving Carillion 'aggresive accounting', and Tameside MBC, dated Sunday, 28 January 2018.

 

Evan [Pritchard} said...

Your reference to Kieran Quinn shows what a bunch of lowlifes you really are.
Beneath contempt.

Tuesday, 30 January 2018 at 14:51:00 GMT 

EVAN Pritchard is a brave and honourable man, as Mark Antony said of Brutus in Shakespeare's play.  Evan is not only the President of the Manchester Unite Community Branch, but he distributes the Communist Party newspaper the Morning Star.  Both noble tasks require the mobilisation of all his consummate skills and abilities.

Both tasks are a thankless jobs!

We should all admire those who seek to promote unpopular causes, even where we disagree with the sentiments as in this case.  Nay, we ought to especially admire Evan Pritchard, when he is bold enough to protest about the 'lowlifes' on Northern Voices and by extension at Tameside TUC, when they have the audacity to challenge Kieran Quinn, the recently dead leader of Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council; who also happened to be the Chair of the Greater Manchester Pension Fund and a position of  Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

Like Brutus in Shakespeare's play, the local Labour Party's noble Kieran Quinn, has been praised by all and sundry. special  praise came from the Tameside Chief Executive, Steven Pleasant, who said that 'The book of condolences [for Kieran] includes the signatures of a former Prime Minister, an Olympic gold medallist and members of the local pigeon-fancying club.'

High praise indeed truly he was one of the Great and the Good!

Yet, the man from the Morning Star, Evan Pritchard, has heroically gone and belittled those of us who are critically challenging the odd partnership of Tamside MBC and Kieran Quinn, who had been tenaciously promoting Carillion with its 'aggressive accounting' techniques and even turned a blind eye to the blacklisting of local electricians like Steve Acheson, who lives in Denton.

Mr. Pritchard's comment makes an eloquent defence of the dead Tameside Councillor Quinn's right to be left alone, despite his very cosy relationship with the blacklising company Carillion.   Would Evan have been as keen to support Ian Kerr who dropped dead in similar circumstances, yet before he left this world he admitted to keeping an illegal data base with over 3,000 names on it?  What about Joe Stalin?  I've just seen the black comedy film 'The Death of Stalin', who died of a sudden stroke, would it have been wrong of us to criticise his crimes out of some kind of sensitive to his daughter's feeling?

None of this is intended to compare Evan Pitchard to Stalin.  Evan Pritchard does have Stalin's strong stomach or sense of humour.   No what is implied by Evan Pitchard's comment is that he is prepared to overlook or keep quiet about Kieran Quinn's partnership with Carillion, and that objectively suggests he approves of the PFI deals done, the partnerships created by Tameside Council, and by extension employment practises like the blacklist which the company was engaged in.  In the current climate that is a brave position for someone in the trade union movement to embrace.

******

Putting Tameside TUC in its Place!

Manchester TUC: They Know Their Swedish Meatballs!

LAST June, in a posting on this Blog, Blanco Posnet  wrote:
‘… a former Public and Commercial Services Union (P.C.S) representative, John Pearson, was confronted by an angry Jobcentre worker outside Ashton Jobcentre, who rebuked him for displaying a P.C.S placard while protesting against benefit sanctions. Although the P.C.S union have called on their members to support groups campaigning against the Tory Government's sanctioning regime, the member of staff, (who we understand to be the P.C.S union rep at Ashton Jobcentre), denied any knowledge of this.'

Then on the 6^th, August, Blanco Posnet  posted something entitled ‘Are Ashton Jobcentre acting like NAZI's?’, which included the following:
‘… only last week a meeting took place in Ashton between P.C.S. union representatives and two invited activists who have been campaigning against the governments iniquitous sanctions regime outside Ashton Jobcentre, for the past 12 months.  The meeting was initiated by Annette Wright (pictured above) a union official of the P.C.S union and President of Manchester Trades Council, and Evan Pritchard, a lay branch official from the Greater Manchester Unite Community Union.’
After a meeting today of the Greater Manchester County Association, the union officer, Annette Wright, was asked by a Northern Voices’ journalist as to what was the constitutional status of the meeting referred to above which was held at Ikea, famous for its Swedish meatballs, in Ashton-under-Lyne.  She said that it was convened as a joint meeting of the PCS, and the Unite Greater Manchester Community Branch.
Blanco Posnet had also written, last August: 
‘… it seems that much of the time [at this meeting] was taken up in admonishing Charlotte Hughes, a leading figure in the campaign…. [and that] Ms. Hughes, a “hardworking” single-mother with four children, who runs a blog – ‘The Poor Side of Life’, a weekly diary of events outside Ashton Jobcentre – was asked to remove items from her blog concerning Ashton Jobcentre and the P.C.S. union.’  When this was raised today by the Tameside delegate in his report at the Greater Manchester County Association of Trade Union Councils, Ms. Wright became flushed in the face and her colleague from Manchester TUC, John Clegg,(bottom right of picture), was heard to utter a four-letter word, and both began hectoring the Tameside delegate.  Even the Northern Voices' Blog was mentioned in their excitable ejaculations. 
Oh dear! 
Both Mr Clegg, and Ms. Wright insisted that the matter had been resolved, and said that it was not a matter for the Trade Councils of Greater Manchester.  Ms. Wright claimed that Charlotte Hughes had not complained of her treatment, and that everything was amicable.  The duo then went on to lambaste Tameside TUC, which has helped to finance the campaign against unfair benefit sanctions in Tameside.  
After the meeting was over,  Ms. Wright was asked when she was going to put in an appearance on the picket outside the Ashton Jobcentre. 
To which, reply came there none!

Unite Rule 27: MEMBERSHIP DISCIPLINE

Degradation Ceremonies & a Curious Caste System

 by Brian Bamford

WHEN, in the 1970s, I wrote my unpublished dissertation 'Members and Officials:  Some aspects of a Trade Union Dispute', I was mindful of the model proposed by Harold Garfinkel in his essay 'Conditions for doing Degradation Ceremonies'.   Degradation in Courts of law, the defrocking of priests, and even at disciplinary hearings of trade unions etc. is an accomplishment which must be brought about by demonstrating that the proposed 'offender' has conduction him or herself in some untoward way which would put the proposed 'offender' outside what is considered to be proper.  Somehow the interrogation must artfully show that the 'offender' is beneath contempt or is acting outside the rules in some way.

 

On the 12^th, August 2015, I have been called to an 'investigation' under Rule 27 of the Unite Rule Book, specifically 'Rule 27.1.5 Bringing about injury to or discredit upon the Union or any member of the Union'. 

 

The allegation is that in March a report appeared on this Northern Voices Blog entitled 'Unite Committee Bins Blacklist Motion' that was 'inaccurate', and contained material that had consequences for the Unite union and undermined Mr. Sidney Graves, who was merely doing his duty as Chairman of the North West Local Authority Regional Industrial Sector Committee (Risc.) at a meeting on the 5^th, March 2015.  The problem was that the crucial decision or the non-decision of the North West Risc. to move a motion supporting the promotion of an effective Ethical Procurement Policy in the way local authorities award contracts to companies that have been involved in blacklisting building site workers.  Northern Voices considered that this failure to find anyone on the North West Risc. to move such an important motion or for the chairman to even hold a discussion, was something that was in the public interest.

 

Mr. Graves seems to have taken a contrary view, and he quickly complained to the North West regional secretary of Unite, Mick Whitley, that the report on the Northern Voices Blog was 'inaccurate' and he believed had consequences for  him and his committee.  As I write these words I am listening to a report on the Radio Four 'Media Show' in which a Scottish football journalist has just been banned by Rangers because he had refused to oblige the Club by producing what is called 'corporate journalism' or reports that please the football club.  Can it be that this week's investigation (12/08/2015) by Unite into Northern Voices is an attempt to produce a kind of 'corporate journalism' for Unite the Union?

 

Interestingly, Unite Rule 27.1.4 says:

'A member may be charged with ... Inciting, espousing or practising discrimination or intolerance amongst members on grounds of race, ethnic origin, religion, age, gender, disability or sexual orientation.'

 

Yet, Unite Rule 27.8 determines that:

'A member may not be charged under this rule in respect of any alleged act or omission in connection with the performance of his / her duties as a full time officer and / or employee of the Union.'

 

Hence, there will be no discrimination on grounds of race, ethnicity, religion, age, gender, disability or sexual orientation, and yet discrimination is enshrined within Unite Rule 27 at Point 27.8 on grounds of functional status:  It is clear here that in Unite that there is an 'officer class' which is beyond the reach of Rule 27, and at the same time that there is an ordinary 'membership class' which is covered by the rule.

 

This represents a 'Get out of Jail Free Rule' and the consequences of this predicament as demonstrated by Rule 27:8 are not difficult to predict:  in terms of this Rule 27 the 'officer class' of Unite the Union are unaccountable, unelected, and untouchable. The rule therefore clearly discriminates between two classes of 'member' – a rank and membership class subject to discipline under Rule 27, and a privileged 'officer' or 'staff' membership category.  As a consequence ought we to be surprised that there have been widespread allegations of full-time trade union officials being inclined to incompetence, corruption, and complicity in blacklisting with the now disgraced Consulting Association?

 

But the situation is now worse than a simple apartheid within the rule, because by invoking Rule 27 to seek to  investigate a report on an independent publication outside the remit of the trade union by the potential use of this rule Unite is surely creating a precedence which could have serious implications for future reporting of trade union affairs.  Does this decision to investigate the editor of Northern Voices mean that Unite the Union is seeking influence editorial decisions of people who also happen to be members of Unite?  Of course, if Mr. Sidney Graves as the Chairman of the Risc, felt he has been defamed by the report in Northern Voices, then he always had the remedy of writing to the editor to seek to correct the report.  Instead of that he sent a complaint to the Regional Secretary of Unite in the North West. 


Similarly sources in the Unite Greater Manchester Community Branch have reported to our Blog that another lay officer, Evan Pritchard, has also put in a complaint to the Unite North West region about other reports appearing on this Northern Voices' Blog under Rule 27:  these reports have commented upon certain internal attempts to censor a face-book page of the Greater Manchester Community Branch and are clearly in the public interest. 
All of these actions  could easily be seen as an attempt to censor and gag the media through the machinery of the Unite union book by the use of Rule 27.  This is bad news for transparency and freedom of the media and suggests a degree of small-mindedness among some of the lay-functionaries within the Unite today:  it appears to be another attempt to establish 'corporate journalism' such as was applied by the Rangers Football Club.

Are Ashton Jobcentre acting like NAZI's?

EVENTS at the Jobcentre in Ashton-under-Lyne, get murkier by the day. We understand that only last week a meeting took place in Ashton between P.C.S. union representatives and two invited activists who have been campaigning against the governments iniquitous sanctions regime outside Ashton Jobcentre, for the past 12 months. The meeting was initiated by Annette Wright, a union official of the P.C.S union and President of Manchester Trades Council, and Evan Pritchard, a lay branch official from the Greater Manchester Unite Community Union.

Although the P.C.S. union is officially committed to support initiatives that seek to undermine and expose the 'draconian sanctions regime that exists in Jobcentres', it seems that much of the time was taken up in admonishing Charlotte Hughes, a leading figure in the campaign.

Sources have told us that the P.C.S. area representative for Stockport and Tameside, who was present at the meeting, made it abundantly clear that he was vehemently against working with groups opposed to sanctions (contrary to P.C.S. union policy) and expressed the view that he had no sympathy with the plight of the unemployed or those who opposed sanctions.

Ms. Hughes, a 'hardworking' single-mother with four children, who runs a blog - 'The Poor Side of Life', a weekly diary of events outside Ashton Jobcentre - was asked to remove items from her blog concerning Ashton Jobcentre and the P.C.S. union. The irate Stockport P.C.S. official also demanded that she remove all references to Jobcentre Staff  "only doing their Job" as he insisted this had Nazi connotations!

Over the last 12 months, Ashton Jobcentre has repeatedly made petty complaints to the police in a vain attempt to get protesters arrested. The police indicated some time ago that they felt that this was a waste of police time as it was not unlawful to engage in peaceful protest. Despite this, the Jobcentre have persisted with their petty complaints and have even threatened protesters with an injunction.

Community Union imposes restrictions on freedom of speech!

Northern Voices Editor - Brian Bamford

JUDGING from recent reports that we have received from sources within Unite the Union, it appears that union bureaucrats are cracking down on dissenting and awkward voices within the union in order to exert discipline and control over their members.

At a meeting of the Greater Manchester Community Union Branch, on Tuesday, which was attended by ten members, there was a recommendation from branch officer’s that branch policy in relation to postings on the branch’s Facebook page, should be changed with immediate effect to allow only content that reflected UNITE policy at either branch, regional, or national level, to be posted on Facebook. It was also recommended that only UNITE members should be allowed to comment, even though the function of the branch, is to carry out community campaigning work.

We understand that this motion to restrict free speech within the branch was opposed by Chris McBride, the branch communications and media officer, who hitherto had been posting articles of general community interest. He told the meeting that other UNITE branch’s Facebook pages were 'open, inclusive, and vibrant' and that this was what was needed, to build a branch of the union that was rooted in the community. Another member pointed out during the discussion, that even without these restrictions, some items being posted on the branch’s Facebook page, were being censored and blocked.

When put to the vote, the officers’ recommendations were defeated with three in favour, four against and three abstentions. The Branch Secretary, John Clegg, then immediately questioned the accuracy of the vote and Branch Chair, Communist Party member, Evan Pritchard, called for a fresh vote to be taken. The decision was then reversed and the officers’ recommendations were adopted.

Among those who attended Tuesday’s meeting, was the septuagenarian, veteran Manchester anarcho-syndicalist, Ronny (gall and wormwood) Marsden. This self-proclaimed libertarian evidently voted against the motion on the first vote but did a volte-face on the second vote - after being seen to exchange glances with the Branch Secretary – and voted for tighter controls over branch freedom of expression. 
The branch also unanimously agreed that officer's of the branch produce a newsletter.

Over the Pennines in Rochdale, another septuagenarian veteran anarchist is facing possible expulsion from Unite the Union, for allegedly bringing the union into disrepute after publishing a report on Northern Voices about a union meeting in Liverpool and blacklisting. Brian Bamford, Editor of Northern Voices magazine and Branch Secretary of Bury UNITE branch, has been summoned before a union inquiry to investigate whether he has broken union rules.