Breaking: Unite ‘exec majority’ issue new statement correcting union’s ‘false narrative’

On Monday, a majority of members of Unite’s elected executive council (exec) were forced to issue a statement condemning the union’s war on democracy, after Unite’s management stepped in to block the removal of the exec’s pro-Graham chair for which a clear majority of members had voted. So egregious was this anti-democratic move that a majority of exec members have said they will not attend any further executive meetings until the situation is corrected.

Now, the same exec majority has issued a second statement correcting what they say is a ‘continual’ ‘false narrative’ being pushed by democratically-deposed-but-still-in-place chair Andy Green and Unite’s management:

Fighting for democracy in the union

It is regrettable that we have to continually correct the false narrative provided by (former EC chair) Andy Green and others. The facts of this week’s issues are as follows:

A majority of Executive members covering all groups (alleged “factions”) signed a motion to call a special meeting of the EC under rules 14.7 and 14.3 which clearly state that at any time a majority of the EC may remove the Chair when a majority of the EC consider it necessary.  This is the motion that was debated prior to the start of this week’s EC meeting.  This was after being frustrated to hold said meeting the previous week by the actions of Andy Green and the Administration of our Union.  

To highlight only one of the concerns that the majority of the EC had with the special meeting , the Legal Director of the Union gave a personal interpretation of his understanding of the rule, not a formal legal one.  In Steve Pinder’s address, he continually tried to state (as Andy Green has done in his communication), that this was a vote of confidence issue.  After a point of order was raised, even Steve Pinder accepted that was not the motion in front of the EC.  

It is important to stress this distinction – the motion had been accepted by Andy Green and the administration as being properly called and set out the provisions under which the chair would be removed.  It was not a vote of no confidence, and the motion and speakers had made no reference to such a proposal. 

After the debate, Andy Green had to be reminded of  exactly how the process works as he appeared to be willing to  allow the General Secretary, who is not a member of the Executive Council, but accountable to them,  to make a final comment after the right of reply.  

The vote was properly conducted and the motion was upheld by a majority of the EC. Rule 14.7 clearly confirms that is all that is required.  Andy Green has refused to vacate the Chair since the vote.

The majority of the EC could not condone such undemocratic actions and have adjourned themselves from the meeting with the clear understanding both verbally and in writing that we will rejoin the meeting with the (democratically elected) Vice Chairs in position until this matter is resolved.  Hopefully this clears up any misunderstanding that Andy Green’s correspondence may have caused.

These are not the first occasions on which elected members have felt forced to take action because of what they say are anti-democratic moves by Green on behalf of Sharon Graham. Last year, the key ‘F&GP’ committee walked out after the pair refused to allow exec members to meet Unite officers who were then on the verge of industrial action against Graham and her team that is still ongoing.

Graham is also embroiled in a dispute by union staff working in the department she created for her husband to run, who allege that he and managers working under him have bullied and abused staff. At least three and by some reports four of the five women working in the department have quit and Graham and her team have been accused by furious workers of employing union-busting tactics to break up the strike, including having allies join the GMB union that represents staff working for Unite to try to vote down the strike action, an allegation that the union’s sector committee has demanded be investigated. Unite’s officers have also accused her of using anti-union legislation to stop them organising collectively.

And in a stunning development exclusively revealed by Skwawkbox, lawyers acting for Unite and Graham also confirmed Skwawkbox’s reporting that the union had destroyed evidence gathered by staff, particularly women, who had recorded the behaviour her husband, Jack Clarke, in their complaint that he was behaving abusively and misogynistically.

Clarke was appointed to his current role, after Graham became general secretary, despite being on a final warning from the union for his behaviour. The industrial action continues and threatens to spread to the whole HQ staff after more than 9/10 workers there voted in favour of strike action over the issue.

Graham has been heavily criticised for her refusal to implement the union’s position, democratically agreed by delegates, to support the people of Palestine against Israel’s apartheid and genocide – instead insisting that she will prioritise arms industry jobs over calls to stand against the genocide. She has also claimed that leaked financials showing the union in a dire financial position are ‘fake’, even though they bore marks of coming from Unite’s internal ‘Sharepoint’ system. Unite has not filed annual accounts since she became general secretary.

Skwawkbox needs your help. The site is provided free of charge but depends on the support of its readers to be viable. If you’d like to help it keep revealing the news as it is and not what the Establishment wants you to hear – and can afford to without hardship – please click here to arrange a one-off or modest monthly donation via PayPal or here to set up a monthly donation via GoCardless (Skwawkbox will contact you to confirm the GoCardless amount as it has to be entered by us). Alternatively, if you prefer to make a one-off or recurring donation by simple card payment, please use the form below:

Thanks for your solidarity so Skwawkbox can keep doing its job of inconveniencing the right and helping to build the left!

If you wish to republish this post for non-commercial use, you are welcome to do so, but please include the donor information above – see here for more.