02.06.2004

Aslef barbequed

The antics of the puffed up prima donnas in Aslef's leadership have the potential to destroy the union, warns Dean Hopper

On Thursday May 27, on a balmy London evening, a group of union officials decided to hold a barbecue, just like thousands of other people. This, however, was no ordinary affair. The union involved was Aslef and those holding the barbecue were the Blairite general secretary, Shaun Brady, and his ally and assistant general secretary, Mick Blackburn, along with the newly appointed head office manager and two other members of HQ staff. The barbecue was held behind the union-owned flats used by the top officials and the executive committee when they are in session.

Aslef president Martin Samways - a supporter of the previous leftwing general secretary, Mick Rix, who was ousted in a surprise election result last year - decided not to join in the festivities due to his open hostility towards the newly elected GS. Martin decided to take himself off to the watering holes of Hampstead and consume his usual fill. When he returned to his flat the barbecue was in full swing. He reportedly tried to sleep but the noise from those below kept him awake. He says he heard the assembled making disparaging remarks about Rix, his girlfriend and members of the EC. He went down to tell them to shut up and this ended in a brawl.

The events are subject to dispute and an enquiry involving the TUC, ordered by the EC. They are also subject to a police investigation. It is reported that Samways received a severe beating at the hands (and feet) of Brady and his supporters. It is also reported that they then left Samways lying on the grass and departed to their flats. The implication being that Samways could easily have died.

Unbeknown to the protagonists, there were three independent witnesses who have provided statements. These will become crucial to the inquiries of both the TUC and police. The EC, having seen the statements, have suspended all those involved and may well take action that could lead to their sacking, if not their expulsion. In addition the executive decided that because of these events and the consequent absence of the top officials, and also because the other inquiry reports from Mathias John Kelly QC into Aslef's financial affairs were not ready, they would postpone the annual conference, due later this month in Scarborough. This is an unprecedented act with dubious authority.

Of course all this is a continuation of the internal battles that have raged between the left reformist EC and Brady since his election. As reported previously, the EC has been suspending Aslef members they accuse of been involved in the unofficial, Brady-supporting 'True Aslef' website. This has involved removing from office the secretary of Cambridge branch and withdrawing the credentials from a number of conference delegates. Brady, for his part, had previously threatened Aslef employees with dismissal and derecognition like some 19th century mill owner.

The antics of these puffed up prima donnas have the potential to destroy Aslef. If this infighting is not stopped, the union will rip itself apart with the only beneficiaries being the train operating companies (TOCs) and the government. It is vital that Aslef members take back control of their union. Resolutions demanding the annual conference be convened should be sent to the EC. It is at this lay delegate conference that the best hope lies that this mess can be resolved.

I t is also important that branches take up the idea that all officials should only receive the wage of the drivers of the TOC that employed them. There should be no place for the 'lifestyle' careerists that inhabit Aslef at this time. Officials should be instantly recallable, not allowed to bring the union into disrepute and then unconstitutionally cancel the one forum where they can be brought to book.