While the cat's away, the mice will play!

COMMUNITY UNION'S HOT HEADED COMRADES

Comrade Pritchard (in flat cap) GMCUB Chairman

WHEN Sheila Coleman, the Unite union Community Membership Officer, failed to attend the branch meeting of  the Greater Manchester Unite Community Union Branch (GMCUB), on Tuesday 24th April at Unite Salford Quays Office trouble erupted.  Sister Coleman seems to act as a kind of chaperone for this troubled and wayward union branch.

In consequence without her loving and caring attention all hell broke lose, with one robust and militant branch member, Paul Kelly, taking to flailing with his fists at a fellow branch member.  So seemingly frenzied and demented was the Kelly outburst that he had to be restrained briefly by colleagues, while he recovered his composure.  

The Unite Greater Manchester Community Branch has gained a such a reputation of wayward conduct of late, that it has been the subject of special investigation and has had the undivided attention of the Unite officer Ms. Sheila Coleman, who has a distinguished background on Merseyside for campaigning for the victims and families of Hillsborough. 

Last month, it was hoped that with the successful banishment of two disgruntled branch members by suspending them just before the branch AGM, the climate of the branch would cool down a bit.

Alas, it was not to be!  

Last month's suspensions seem merely to have excited people like Mr Kelly, to try to create the conditions for further suspensions and havoc.  

The taste of the blood of the earlier suspensions was apparently too rich for Mr Kelly, and he seems to have become overwrought as the report below of recent allegations in the Salford Star  suggests:

'The President of Salford TUC Paul Kelly has been reported to the Unite Regional Office. The substance of the complaint is that he verbally abused a Unite member prior to a meeting of the Greater Manchester Community Branch on Tuesday 24th April at Unite Salford Quays Office. Furthermore he raised his fists in a threatening and menacing manner and threatened to beat the member up!'

None of this bodes well for May Day and worker's solidarity.  Indeed next Monday, the excitable Mr. Kelly will be speaking on such issues as international comradeship at a May Day event in Salford's Bexley Square alongside the delightful Labour shadow business secretary, Rebecca Long-Bailey MP.  

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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 ? 

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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.

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Unite Community branch opts for Len McCluskey

IN a tight vote last week the Unite Greater Manchester Community branch nominated Len McCluskey for the General secretary on Britain's biggest union; Unite the Union.  The figures given to Northern Voices were:

Len McCluskey : 14; Ian Allinson : 13; Gerard Coyne : 0

Our contact in the Manchester Community Branch says that 'according to this this week's Weekly Worker, (Ian) Allinson has 7 nominating branches so far. He has until 17 February to get another 43 - it looks like a tall order!'
Candidates need 50 nominating branches to get onto the ballot paper for the election. 
NV has taken the position that it is vital that as many names as possible are on the ballot and that a 'coronation' of Len McCluskey would be an unhealthy result for Unite and democracy.  Because the suggestion is that the election was called for selfish reasons to extend his term in office.
In our opinion some elements appear to be moving heaven and earth to keep Ian Allinson off the ballot by blustering about splitting the vote of the left.  If this is the case and the Unite bureaucracy is determined to keep Mr. Allinson out of the race, it will create much bad blood in the labour movement.
Today, we calculate that according to Ian Allinson's Twitter account there are some 24 nominating branches opting for Mr. Allison*, but some of these may not yet have registered their nominations officially.
*  NV spoke to Ian Allison last night and he said that he had only 22 branches that had confirmed their nominations to him.