ARTICLE FROM LABOUR LEFT BRIEFING, APRIL 2001
Chickens are starting to come home to
roost for MSF Sleazemeister Roger Lyons. First up is an order from the
Certification Officer to lift the suspension from office imposed some 16 months
ago on Sue Michie, current London NEC member. Michie was President of the
London Regional Council at the time of the blow-up over the union's affiliation
to the Greater London Labour Party and the denial of its right to take part in
the London mayor primary election.
The row ultimately led to the suspension
of six officers of the Regional Council. The six received huge support from MSF
members in London and nationally and this contributed to Michie's victory in an
NEC election which fell due. Now her complaint to the Certification Officer
that her suspension was imposed in breach of the union's rules has been upheld
and MSF has been instructed to reinstate her forthwith. While this is not the
end the matter for Michie and the others currently suspended, the likelihood is
that the disciplinary proceedings will now collapse in ignominy and disgrace
for the union's leadership. London activists will now go to town in the run-up
to Annual Conference, with the harshest condemnation of Lyons and everyone else
who assisted him in this squalid witch-hunt.
Though the affair is only a sideshow in the big struggle over London government, it does illustrate the depths to which national union leaders were prepared to sink to help New Labour frustrate the wishes of London's workers and citizens.
Next up for the Sleazemeister will be
fresh publicity on his financial misconduct. Though this has drifted out of the
news for a few months, quite a lot has being going on behind the scenes. Under
pressure from the media, quite a vigorous investigation by the Certification
Officer has been going on the allegations of corruption. This has involved
taking evidence from all those involved in Tribunal proceedings or who have
been bought off by confidentiality agreements. This puts not just Lyons in the
frame, but also a leading NEC member, John Gardner, generally held to be the
main right-wing operator in the union. The results are likely to become public
by the end of March, or sooner, and even if they don't reveal large-scale
criminality, will paint a picture of a group of people at the top of the union
engaged in petty fiddling as a way of life.
If this were not enough, Lyons faces a
major problem with his former chauffeur, Bryan Keegan, who is determined,
unlike all those who accepted hush money, to spill the beans about all the
gross behaviour he witnessed. Keegan has already refused a £30,000 offer to be
silent, even though this cost him the support of his union, the GMB. He is pressing
on with his Tribunal case which is set for hearing in June. The tabloids are
sniffing around and lurid stories are in the offing.
The saddest thing about all of this is
how weak the union's democracy has proved to be in the face of all these
abuses. If there is to be a clean-up in MSF, it will result from the efforts of
a handful of members and employees, the media and the state. Despite widespread
concern and unease, the union's institutions have proved inadequate to cope
with an assault by a relatively small number of corrupt people.
Even sadder is the probability that MSF
will cease to exist as a result of the activities of these same people. The
ballot on merger with the AEEU commences on 12 March. A "roadshow" of
MSF and AEEU officials is touring the country with the intention of getting out
the vote for the merger. Their basic argument is quite simple – they are
offering the members something for nothing, improved services in return for
marking a ballot paper. There are good reasons for thinking the improvements
will never materialise. But the left has failed to get its arguments about the
dangers of such a right-wing bloc over to the members. Nevertheless, while the
outcome of the merger ballot is predictable, subsequent events are not. The right-wing
leadership will be beset with problems right from the start and the struggle to
get rid of them will begin again immediately.
Hugh MacGrillen
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