cockneyrebel
New Member
For sure. And keep us updated as to what is happening.......
Wobblies defend driver sacked for swearing - press release
- Thread starter Red Leicester
- Start date
Red Leicester
Active Member
The farce continues.
First Great Western has now responded to Pat's claim for unfair dismissal.
They now give grounds for dismissal which differ from the ones cited in his notice of dismissal.
A "Pre-Hearing Review" will be held on 13 September.
It won't be long now and the role of the company, the Morning Star and it's despicable "senior lay union representative" can be exposed.
First Great Western has now responded to Pat's claim for unfair dismissal.
They now give grounds for dismissal which differ from the ones cited in his notice of dismissal.
A "Pre-Hearing Review" will be held on 13 September.
It won't be long now and the role of the company, the Morning Star and it's despicable "senior lay union representative" can be exposed.
Johnson Forrest
New Member
Still no update? Maybe the 'Wobs' have realised what a crock of shite this case is - built on lies, bullying and slander from the beginning - or maybe they're just putting the finishing touches to their 'explosive' legal case.
Johnson Forrest
New Member
Still no update ... *Tumbleweed blows down main street* ... Never give up hope ... Sure the Wobs know what they're doing ... Defo they'll be along any day now to report their stunning legal victory ... Just be patient.
Johnson Forrest
New Member
Still nothing?.... Never mind. Hang on in there. Any day now...
The Black Hand
Unclean
Sacked for swearing - with the help of the union.
When RMT activist Patrick Spackman swore at fellow driver and wannabe union bureaucrat, Alex Gordon, during a row about union politics, he didn’t expect management to be immediately called in.
But that is exactly what happened.
Pat and Alex had had a history of political disagreements, particularly over Alex’s support for the collaborationist Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions. During a workplace argument about union politics in June 2006 Pat swore at Alex and said that he would do what he could to prevent Alex being elected to the RMT’s Council of the Executives.
Alex immediately complained to management that he had been threatened. Pat went home and Alex finished his shift.
Pat completed a full shift the next day but the day after that was told that he was being suspended on suspicion of “gross misconduct”. Only then did Pat learn that Alex had made a complaint to management. Pat sent Alex an email of apology but this was immediately handed over to management as further “evidence” of Pat’s guilt.
Pat initially sought representation from the RMT but it quickly became apparent that the bureaucrats had their own agenda. A regional official said that he had “done a deal” with the company, First Great Western, and Pat would receive a final written warning and some (unspecified) loss of pay. When Pat rejected this offer the RMT official refused to represent him. It was at that point that Pat approached the IWW.
The investigation conducted by the company was a farce. The Investigating Officer made two contradictory statements about what had happened and his “evidence” was therefore ignored by the Hearing Officer. The Investigating Officer’s notes of the interviews with witnesses were not checked for accuracy by the witnesses until eight months later. The company claimed that a “persistent offender” is “someone who offends people persistently”!
Nevertheless, Pat was sacked.
The IWW issued a press release about the case which was picked up by the Morning Star, the self-appointed “daily paper of the left”. However, a couple of days later the paper published an apology to the bureaucrat and made untrue accusations against Pat. The editor refused to withdraw the accusations and, because the Morning Star does not abide by the Press Complaints Commission Code of Practice, the PCC was unable to intervene. Suing for libel requires a trip to the High Court by a barrister and costs tens of thousands of pounds.
Prior to the Employment Tribunal hearing Pat was given legal advice that, technically, an employer was probably within their rights to dismiss a worker for swearing at a colleague, although people usually sought to resolve such matters informally. This whole business had dragged on for about 16 months and had taken a severe toll on Pat’s health and relationship with his fiancée and he withdrew his claim for unfair dismissal.
The experience, whilst mainly negative, has strengthened Pat’s belief in grassroots organisation of workers and his contempt for the union bureaucracy.
Alex Gordon was clearly motivated by a desire to defend his career in the RMT and was happy to use the incident as a pretext to keep Pat away from other members. The regional official wanted to protect his cosy relationship with management.
The RMT has a reputation for militancy, but it is the rank and file members who are militant. The bureaucrats, even the minor ones, tend to have a closer working relationship with the bosses than they do with the members they are supposed to represent.
The IWW is a different type of union. It organises solidarity with its members, not secret “deals” for its members. If that’s the kind of unionism you believe in then join us in the IWW!
When RMT activist Patrick Spackman swore at fellow driver and wannabe union bureaucrat, Alex Gordon, during a row about union politics, he didn’t expect management to be immediately called in.
But that is exactly what happened.
Pat and Alex had had a history of political disagreements, particularly over Alex’s support for the collaborationist Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions. During a workplace argument about union politics in June 2006 Pat swore at Alex and said that he would do what he could to prevent Alex being elected to the RMT’s Council of the Executives.
Alex immediately complained to management that he had been threatened. Pat went home and Alex finished his shift.
Pat completed a full shift the next day but the day after that was told that he was being suspended on suspicion of “gross misconduct”. Only then did Pat learn that Alex had made a complaint to management. Pat sent Alex an email of apology but this was immediately handed over to management as further “evidence” of Pat’s guilt.
Pat initially sought representation from the RMT but it quickly became apparent that the bureaucrats had their own agenda. A regional official said that he had “done a deal” with the company, First Great Western, and Pat would receive a final written warning and some (unspecified) loss of pay. When Pat rejected this offer the RMT official refused to represent him. It was at that point that Pat approached the IWW.
The investigation conducted by the company was a farce. The Investigating Officer made two contradictory statements about what had happened and his “evidence” was therefore ignored by the Hearing Officer. The Investigating Officer’s notes of the interviews with witnesses were not checked for accuracy by the witnesses until eight months later. The company claimed that a “persistent offender” is “someone who offends people persistently”!
Nevertheless, Pat was sacked.
The IWW issued a press release about the case which was picked up by the Morning Star, the self-appointed “daily paper of the left”. However, a couple of days later the paper published an apology to the bureaucrat and made untrue accusations against Pat. The editor refused to withdraw the accusations and, because the Morning Star does not abide by the Press Complaints Commission Code of Practice, the PCC was unable to intervene. Suing for libel requires a trip to the High Court by a barrister and costs tens of thousands of pounds.
Prior to the Employment Tribunal hearing Pat was given legal advice that, technically, an employer was probably within their rights to dismiss a worker for swearing at a colleague, although people usually sought to resolve such matters informally. This whole business had dragged on for about 16 months and had taken a severe toll on Pat’s health and relationship with his fiancée and he withdrew his claim for unfair dismissal.
The experience, whilst mainly negative, has strengthened Pat’s belief in grassroots organisation of workers and his contempt for the union bureaucracy.
Alex Gordon was clearly motivated by a desire to defend his career in the RMT and was happy to use the incident as a pretext to keep Pat away from other members. The regional official wanted to protect his cosy relationship with management.
The RMT has a reputation for militancy, but it is the rank and file members who are militant. The bureaucrats, even the minor ones, tend to have a closer working relationship with the bosses than they do with the members they are supposed to represent.
The IWW is a different type of union. It organises solidarity with its members, not secret “deals” for its members. If that’s the kind of unionism you believe in then join us in the IWW!
butchersapron
Bring back hanging
Another victory for some on heere who are more than happy to join hands with the bosses in the victimisation of those they disagrees with politically. I strongly suspect that the company and the bureaucrats dragged it out as long as possible to use Pat's ill-health over the last few years against him.
This is a case of unfair dismissal and the railway firm is going to get done for thousands.
Signed,
A right wing fuck face, whom has called many a boss a cunt and a wanker and gotten away with it, most probably because they was human beings with a bit of self respect for themselves.
Signed,
A right wing fuck face, whom has called many a boss a cunt and a wanker and gotten away with it, most probably because they was human beings with a bit of self respect for themselves.
Bob_the_lost
Elsewhere
Suing for libel requires a trip to the high courts? Really? Had no idea it was that big a thing, there are companies that offer no win no fee deals on it, thought they were only on the budget end of law suits!
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