17th November 2003

NEC Expenses Revealed

amicus.cc have finally obtained a breakdown of the expense claims of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the corrupt amicus union. Up until now the only figures published were loss-of-earnings claims, which the union is obliged by law to disclose, and the total running costs of the NEC, which are down from a whopping £1/4 million in 1999 to a still hefty £120,635 for this year to October. The loss-of-earnings claims would typically only account for 10% of the total cost, with the remaining 90% hidden.

We have been trying to find out which NEC members claim this unaccounted for 90%, and in particular, how much serial expense claimer Bob Braddock gets. Braddock always tops the loss-of-earnings claims (once with a massive 31% of the total for all NEC members!). A Certification Officer hearing is scheduled for next month when the union may well be forced to disclose the payments to him. If any one NEC member were to account for anywhere near 30% of the total for all NEC members this would come to over £36,000 for this year alone, a staggeringly high amount for any un-salaried 'lay' member of the union. The amicus MSF General Purposes and Finance Committee (Chair one Bob Braddock) handed over £11,000 to Braddock's employer the Merseyside Unemployment Centre (MUC). Braddock relinquished the chair for this decision to 'avoid a conflict of interest'. Braddock's salary from MUC is just under £24,000 a year. With his loss-of-earnings claims from the union currently running at at over £6,000 a year this would indicate that he spends an amazing 25% of his employer's time working for the union. Where there's MUC there's brass as they say.

'Twenty Five Thousand' Bob Braddock

Meanwhile Spare General Secretary Roger Lyons has at least provided a breakdown of NEC expenses by type and we publish that here. The totals are down but still high by anyone's standards. The most remarkable figure is the decline in NEC member's sustenance claims, down 66% on 2000, the very year Lyons bought his 25p current bun. Why would that be then?

New! Lyons' letter is attached, note the simple 'Our ref: RL'; the Spare Retired-on-full-pay+20% General Secretary must be very busy. Too busy to recall MSF Rule 56:

All members wishing to examine the financial records of the Union shall be entitled to do so on giving reasonable notice to the General Secretary.

[Roger Lyons] NEC Expenses 200-2003
[David Beaumont] RE: MSF rule 56 (Inspection of books) - Bob Braddock
[amicus.cc] NEC Elections - your chance to throw the right out.
[amicus.cc] MUC accounts (acrobat file)
Posted by www.rogerlyons.com on 17th November 2003