17.10.1996

Derby’s union wreckers

Labour-controlled Derbyshire County Council (DCC) has launched an all-out attack on the main union representing its workers. It has suspended the branch secretary of the Social Services APT&C Unison branch, Peter Moore, on a charge of gross misconduct for his alleged involvement in a staff walkout at the Chesterfield area social services office on Wednesday October 9. He was called to a disciplinary hearing on Tuesday October 15.

The walkout of over 100 staff at Chesterfield was in support of home help organisers who have been involved in a long-running dispute with management over workloads.

Home help organisers have been operating a work-to-rule since the end of August. However, in an attempt to break the dispute, DCC decided to dock their pay by 20% from October 9 if they continued their action.

This is an outrageous attack on home help organisers and is reminiscent of the tactics adopted by hard right Tory authorities such as Westminster and Wandsworth, as well as Brent’s attempt to derecognise the union.

It was this threat to home help organisers which sparked off the walkout at Chesterfield on Wednesday. In response to this threat, home help organisers have now voted to ballot for strike action.

Peter Moore attended the walkout in his capacity as branch secretary in order to minimise or resolve any difficulties that might have arisen during the action. He played no role in organising it.

The decision to suspend and discipline Peter is a clear case of victimisation. As branch secretary, Peter has played a leading role in the home help organisers dispute and has been an active trade unionist for many years in Derbyshire.

The council should immediately withdraw this threat to the trade union rights of all Derbyshire employees by dropping this outrageous attempt to victimise a trade union representative and by taking immediate steps to settle the long-running dispute with the home help organisers.

DCC seems hellbent on following a collision course with its employees. Firstly, we saw its outrageous behaviour during the firefighters' dispute. Secondly, we have seen its attempt to go over the heads of the unions and impose the withdrawal of the Protection of Earnings Agreement. Now we have its bullying of the home help organisers topped, off with crude union busting in its attempt to discipline Peter Moore.

If management gets away with disciplining Peter, it will be a body blow to all DCC employees. We need to make sure that there is the widest possible campaign to defend Peter across the county and the whole trade union movement. Unison branches across the country have already been contacted and support is flooding in.

Linda Addison