CAMPAIGN FOR DEMOCRACY IN AMICUS

 

Secretary                                                                     President                                                          Treasurer

Roy Cole                                                                     Jimmy Craigie                                                      Bill Young


 

STOP THE POLITICAL ATTACK

Jimmy Warne, Des Heemskerk and Cathie Willis have all been sacked from their jobs in Amicus. All three were instrumental in Derek's election victory. Cathie was in charge of the union's purchasing department, a key position that monitors and controls the expenditure of the union and her original job from which she had been removed by Sir Ken Jackson when he discovered she was married to a leading Gazette supporter in the construction industry. Derek asked Jimmy and Des, in recognition of the key role played in his election victory, to come and work for the union. Jimmy is a former shop steward from Swan Hunter shipyard. He was on the ABEU Executive and was part of the walkout by the Gazette supporters on the EC when the right wing ABEU United group wanted to prevent Derek from taking office. Des left his job when Derek asked him to come and work for the union. He was formerly a Deputy Convenor in Fords and was a member of the AEEU Motor Vehicle National Committee. He was also the Editor of the Gazette for seven years and was responsible for running the campaign for Derek's election in 2002 and for the Amicus Executive election in 2003. They were the first of the Gazette supporters to be taken on, followed six months later by several more.

It quickly became apparent that Derek had no confidence in continuing left gains. He applied pressure to Des and Jimmy shortly after their appointment to support the idea of a consensus slate with the right wing in the 2003 Executive elections, which they rejected. At the May 2003 ABEU Unity Gazette Editorial Board Derek also tried and failed to persuade the Gazette to support the idea of a consensus slate of candidates with the right wing. This was the beginning of Derek' s move away from support for Gazette policies. Instead of accepting this decision of the Gazette he took the unusual step of assuming the role of returning officer for the Executive elections. This allowed him to adopt a position of neutrality during the Executive Elections. A consensus list with selected Gazette and right wing candidates was circulated among the full time officers. This was a deliberate attempt to undermine the democratically selected Gazette list of candidates in the 2003 election. In 2004 Derek, supported by the Chair of the Executive Council, gave a free hand to his appointed Assistant General Secretary Les Bayliss to attempt to set up a rival organisation to the Gazette called ATU network, which aimed to 'abolish the past' and set up as a 'centre left' organisation. Les Bayliss was allowed to openly hand out a leaflet, that had his home address as a contact point, advertising the ATU at a full-time officers meeting in Birmingham.

During the period when Les Bayliss was Charity Organiser, under Sir Ken Jackson, a £240,000 union donation to the Express Link up children's charity was made. A letter was sent by the Director of the charity complaining that an associate of Les Bayliss, the recently jailed fraudster Steve Sampson, had asked for a 10% 'finders fee' for this donation, of which £8000 was actually paid. A further complaint in the letter was that Les Bayliss had asked the Director that this fee should not be shown in the Charity accounts. Following the leaking of documents in 2005 from an unknown source and related to this scandal, Derek launched a fierce attack on the three at the September NEC. The attack resulted in the suspension of the three and a so-called 'investigation' into the source of the leaks. But a secret investigation actually began on the 1 st August before the September NEC or anyone else had been informed. This was only a week after the 23rd July Gazette meeting where a narrow vote took place that defeated an attempt to support changing the Rule passed at the Brighton conference in May on election of officers. The three sacked workers were all prominent in opposing the changing of the rule by the NEC at that meeting.

There is no substance or evidence to the false allegations. This is a political attack on those who have steadfastly stood behind the Gazette policies. It is an attempt by Amicus to lean on Gazette supporting officers in the union to make them more compliant. It is also an attempt to isolate and discredit the former leadership of the Gazette with lies and distortions against the three. The victimised three must be defended.

 

 

 

THE SACKED WORKERS ANSWER THE FALSE ALLEGATIONS MADE AGAINST THEM

Cathie Willis

My name is Cathie Willis and I have been a full time employee of Amicus for nine years prior to my sacking on March 17th. I am married to Phil Willis who is a prominent and outspoken shop steward representing Amicus members in the Construction Section. Amicus claim that I colluded in an attempt to undermine the General Secretary, that there has been a fundamental breach of trust and confidence and that I failed to follow an order from a direct Superior/Line Manager. These charges against me are simply not true. Amicus have produced no evidence to support the charges and I have been subjected to a kangaroo court for the past eight months while they invoked the internal disciplinary procedures against me. The attack on Jimmy, Des and I is a political attack born of a need by Amicus management to control its employees, its activities and members. I feel that it is no co-incidence that I have been sacked and that my husband happens to be extremely vocal in his constructive criticism of the union leadership and union policies both past and present. As an activist I know that I must fight back and defend both my rights and my professional reputation. It is for these reasons that I intend to take Amicus to a tribunal for unfair dismissal, as I have done nothing wrong. However I do not relish such an undertaking as it saddens me to have to fight my own union for justice. All that I ask is that Comrades within the Trade Union movement lend their support to our campaign. We need your support to stop this from happening again in the future. The control freakery must stop and all Amicus members need to play their part in helping to achieve that.

Des Heemskerk

The reasons given for my dismissal have been cobbled together in a desperate but failed attempt to try to make some mud stick. There are seven pages of rubbish and lies too voluminous to print here in full but these false and ridiculous accusations of the Amicus management can be summed up in one word. Desperation! So desperate that they level a charge that after I was suspended I was supposed to have prepared and distributed a leaflet at Brighton TUC despite the fact that I was nowhere near Brighton or the TUC! That I was supposed to have concealed activities on my computer simply because they could find nothing there! That because two years ago I immediately reported to the General Secretary that due to an error by the union IT department that personal files were available on the internal union drive to all union employees. I have now been accused of unauthorised accessing of his files!! Accusing me of having leaked confidential documents, although there is not a single scrap of evidence to justify their false charge. Robert Gomaz revealed the contents of these documents in 2005, the day before he was escorted from Hayes Court! Yet no 'investigation' has taken place into this incident! That I corresponded with Shop Stewards in the course of my job using my personal e-mail account as well as my union account, even though I was often working away from the office, is seen as operating in a 'secretive way' inconsistent with 'working methods in the union', even though no guidelines on 'working methods' existed! That I made regular telephone calls to Jimmy Warne and Cathie Willis! That I made a single phone call during the course of the GMB conference in reply to a missed call on my phone from David Beaumont which they accuse as being for 'wilful purposes '?! After six months of suspension and 'so-called investigation' this is the only 'so-called evidence' Amicus management can use for my dismissal! A complete crock of effluent! A naked political witch-hunt.

Jimmy Warne

In late May of last year I was approached at the union's training college in Esher by Robert Gomaz, head of the union's charities. Robert invited me up to his office in Esher Place. He then proceeded to make me aware of what he believed was wrongdoing by a senior member of staff, namely Les Bayliss. The next day I spoke to the General Secretary and told him I needed to meet with him urgently to discuss what Robert Gomaz had told me. Derek told me to make an appointment through his P A Chris Matheson, which is exactly what I did. The very same day I spoke to the General Secretary. Les Bayliss confronted me in the library at Esher with Robert Burford. Les told me that he wanted to know what I knew. I refused to talk to Les Bayliss or Robert Burford about what Gomaz had told me and insisted that I would talk to no one but the General Secretary about this matter. At the same time as I was being confronted by Bayliss unbeknown to me Robert Gomaz was being escorted from Hayes Court and has never been heard of since. Les Bayliss was suspended as a result of the information I gave to the General Secretary. Tony Dubbins and Ed Sweeney then interviewed me with regard to the same. Les Bayliss was returned to work with his character untarnished. What has happened to Cathie, Des and myself is a result of the events detailed above. In September later that year whilst I was on holiday with Jimmy Craigie and his family I was suspended from duty. It was only on my return from holiday that I became aware of my suspension. No reason was given for my suspension. I was told not to use my phone or computer. I was further informed not to attempt to talk to anyone inside the union. For two months I was under virtual house arrest. After several months and a prolonged investigation the union decided that I had two charges to answer.

1.      That I had conspired in the preparation, publication and distribution of a leaflet calling for my re- instatement handed out at that years TUC

2.      I had sought to undermine the senior management of the union by conspiring with others. I completely refute both charges and the union has offered no evidence whatsoever as to my guilt. Yet at 11-20pm on Friday 17th March I was informed by courier's letter that I had been summarily dismissed. That decision I have appealed and even at this late stage I hope that the union will come to its senses. The question I would like all those who read these words to ponder is this. Why did we all campaign in the Gazette for the removal of Ken Jackson? I for one did it because I believe any member of this union, regardless of their politics should be able to express their view without fear or favour. I thought we had moved our union away from the tactics adopted against Cathie, Des and myself and I believe it is a sorry day for democracy that you can find someone guilty regardless of whether the evidence exists or not.

Published by the 'Campaign for Democracy in Amicus'. Secretary, Roy Cole, PO Box 50525, London E14 6WG Please send any donations to the above address with cheques made out to the 'Campaign for Democracy in Amicus'