Grass Roots Left Extended National Committee

Saturday 9 May 2015

The Wellington 37 Bennetts Hill, B2 5SN, Off New Street, 10 minutes walk from New Street Station.
Birmingham
Time 12-3 PM
Draft Agenda
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.

Attendance/Apologies
Minutes of the last meeting/matters arising.
State of the GRL and the United Left and other unions Len McCluskey, Paul Kenny,
Dave Prentis, the rest of the TU leaders and the 2015 General Election
Keith Henderson and Steve McKenzie will speak on the GMB General Secretary Election.
Blacklisting Dave Smith invited
Workplace Reports.
Proposals for Future Actions,
Finance.
Motions.
AOB, Announcements, forthcoming events etc.
Pooled fares, next meeting

Secretarys report:
18th March 2015

Support Keith Henderson for GMB General Secretary

Following the statement of the 23rd February 2015, indicating that Keith Henderson will be seeking
nominations, for the forthcoming General Secretary election in the GMB: this supplementary
statement is being issued to clarify the reasons as to why nominations are being sought.
I believe in democratising the GMB and defeating the reign of terror that has operated in this union
for far to long said Keith. All officers should be elected and made accountable to the
membership.
It is my commitment, if elected as General Secretary, to end the reign of terror in this union that
has lasted for far too long. Once achieved to a level that ensures anyone can stand in such an
election, if they get the necessary support, I will stand down as General Secretary to facilitate a free
and fair election and I will aim to call a fresh general secretary election within 6 months of me being
elected.
If I received enough nominations to stand and enough votes to win the election I believe it would be
my job as elected General Secretary to end the reign of terror that prevents officers of the union and
lay members from standing for this or any other elected position in the GMB through fear. Fear of
losing your job if you are an officer and stood in such an election. Fear that you would be humiliated
and deemed not competent by those in the current structures who have a vested self interest in
ensuring that the status quo was maintained, if you are a lay member.
The fresh General Secretary election that I will call within 6 months of me being elected as General

Secretary is to facilitate a free and fair election and to allow any officer and lay members to stand in
this election without fear.

Blacklisting:
Open ended Labour Movement inquiry into blacklisting against trade union
activists needed.
I went to the Dave Smith launch of his book Blacklisted on 21 April in Bookmarks. He spoke well on
the blacklisting and state and police involvement and the need for militant mobilisations like when
they blocked Oxford Street and Park Lane in defence of shop stewards sacked on Crossrail etc.
He spoke on the Amicus officials who participated in the blacklisting, one in particular who openly
admitted it, defending it as the most natural thing in the world. And the state involvement, spies
sent in who passed over complete lists of all at meetings like those in defence of Brian Higgins in his
dispute with that UCATT official and the article in the Irish Post. The state spook chaired the
meetings and handed over the attendance lists, all of whom got blacklisted, of course. All this now
openly admitted. When will we get revolutionary justice for this?
The Blacklisting Campaign are demanding a public inquiry and the Labour Manifesto promises a . A
full inquiry that is transparent and public. Ok I'd say but why not organise a Labour movement
inquiry with well-known public figures to conduct (Hendy?) endorsed by as many prominent
politicians and trade union leaders as possible whilst we are waiting for this? This need not be
counter-posed to the demand for a full and open Public Inquiry but it would put more pressure on
for one and, more importantly, the terms of reference etc. can be set democratically by those
involved in the existing democratically structured rank and file committed set up for the express
purpose of fighting blacklisting. Trade union officials should be encouraged to participate but should
have no vote or veto on how the inquiry is to proceed. That is, after all, the entire strength of the
Blacklisting campaign, its independence from the trade union bureaucracy and willingness to
mobilise with them if possible, against them if necessary.
Public inquiries take forever to get going and the state can stymie them from the outset by setting
the terms of reference in such a way so as to exclude any really useful outcome. We should not be
fooled by the promise from Labour of a full public Inquiry, the terms of reference are the crucial
matter here. A full inquiry that is transparent and public may well turn out to be an awful lot less
than that, we must make sure that blacklisting class is independently put by a Labour Movement
Inquiry as well.
For instance offering immunity from prosecution to witnesses and not giving it the power to
summons witnesses can render it impotent. They can drag on for years thereby postponing and
effectively denying. And you have handed over to the state the defence of the militants, who they
regards as the scum of the earth because they are the only real people who defend and promote the
cause of the workers and oppressed, who will always be their enemies as long as capitalism exists, as
Dave pointed out. The experiences of the blacklisted workers who took their cases to industrial
tribunals related by Dave - incredibly they all lost even when the company admitted in full the wrong
doing- shows how futile appealing to the state is without a mass movement to force concessions out
of them.
I would say a Labour movement inquiry would be anti - establishment from the outset and that's
what's needed in the building industry. And not just the building industry, the discussion outlined
how it already existed in most industries and the building industry firms were spreading it to the NHS
through PPF etc.

Blacklisting in the Election Manifestos - update 14 April 2015

STEVE MCKENZIE
To
henderson.keith1985@gmail.com
CC
jerryhicks4gs2010@yahoo.co.uk grahamdurham@hotmail.com Steve Forrest 3 GERALD DOWNING
Apr 15
This must be turned into reality if Labour can form a government after 7th May

1. Blacklisting makes the General Election manifestos

Labour:
"Some sectors and occupations have particular issues of concern that need to be addressed, such as
the problems of false self-employment and blacklisting uncovered by recent investigations. Selfemployment is a vital part of our economy, but there is evidence that in some cases it is being
wrongly used to avoid tax and employment rights, notably in the construction industry. Labour will
tackle bogus self employment in construction and a set up a full inquiry that is transparent and
public to examine the issue of blacklisting. Recognising historic cases, we will release all papers
concerning the Shrewsbury 24 trials".
Page 13 - http://b.3cdn.net/labouruk/0d7eac1a5ecd182f46_e8m6ivtck.pdf
https://usilive.org/ucatt-welcomes-labours-blacklisting-pledge/

Green:
"End Blacklisting - We will set up a full investigation into blacklisting in the construction industry and
consider the creation of a new criminal offence"
Page 46
- https://www.greenparty.org.uk/assets/files/manifesto/Green_Party_2015_General_Election_Mani
festo.pdf
Plaid Cymru:
"Plaid Cymru will legislate against blacklisting"
Page 11 - https://www.partyof.wales/2015-manifesto/

TUSC:
"Fully independent public inquiry into police collusion in the scandal of blacklisting"
Blacklisting firms fund the Tories
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/100-fatcats-who-backed-tory-5443724

2. Public Inquiry
Blacklisted workers continue to campaign for a fully independent public inquiry into the blacklisting
scandal and for a public inquiry into the role of undercover police spying on trade unions and other
peaceful democratic campaigners. Teresa May has announced a public inquiry into police spying.
Labour & Greens have pledged some kind of inquiry / investigation into the blacklisting scandal.
Professor Keith Ewing (long time friend & supporter of the Blacklist Support Group) asks whether the
proposed inquires will go far enough and actually uncover the full story of police spying on trade
unions.
http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-24c9-Which-of-us-are-being-watched

3. Blacklisted Book reviews and tour dates

Reviews by blacklisted workers Brian Higgins and Pete Shaw in the UK and others around the world
http://republicancommunist.org/blog/2015/04/09/blacklisted/
http://socialistreview.org.uk/401/blacklisted
http://socialistunity.com/blacklisted-the-secret-war-against-trade-unionists/
http://www.equaltimes.org/uk-mps-call-for-inquiry-into#.VS1SVfnF8ud
http://workinglife.org.au/2015/04/10/revealed-how-police-spied-on-uk-workers/

Blacklisted Book Tour Dates

April
Tues 21st - London - Bookmarks (6:30pm) https://bookmarksbookshop.co.uk/events
Sat 25th - SWTUC - Devon
Sun 26th - CWU conference Bournemouth with Billy Hayes (12:30)
Tues 28th - Liverpool - Jack Jones House, Unite offices (6pm)
Wed 29th - Liverpool - News from Nowhere (am)
Wed 29th - Leeds Trades Council public meeting Swathmore Centre (7pm)
May
Fri 1st - Manchester, Kings Arms Salford (6pm)
Mon 4th - Kent Workers Festival, Aylesham
Wed 13th - FBU conference Blackpool with Matt Wrack (5:30pm)
Thur 14th - Bristol - Tony Benn House, Unite office (6pm)
Fri 15th - Bristol - UWE CESR seminar (2pm) www1.uwe.ac.uk/bl/bbs/bbsresearch/cesr/cesrseminars.aspx
Sat 16th - London - Bishopsgate Institute
Wed 20th - Nottingham - Fine Leaves Books (7pm)
June
Wed 10th - GMB conference Dublin
Thur 25th - Glastonbury Festival
July
Fri 10th - Durham Miners Gala - NUM office Redhills, pre-festival events(5pm)
Sat 18th - Tolpuddle Festival

Any other trades councils, festival stages or conferences else wanting a speaker please feel free to contact us.

Please keep posting your photos of people reading the book to Facebook and twitter with the
hashtag #blacklistedbook
http://newint.org/books/politics/blacklisted-secret-war/

4. United We Stand
The brilliant play about the Shrewsbury Pickets continues its UK tour in the run up to the General
Election. If you haven't seen this play yet - book your ticket asap.
http://www.townsendproductions.org.uk/productions/united-we-stand

5. Blacklisting in the airline sector

Victoria Weldon
AN aircraft engineer who claims he was sacked after raising safety concerns over procedures at
British Airways is suing the airline for unfair dismissal.
John Higgins, who worked as an aircraft maintenance supervisor for the firm, claims he made
protected disclosures to BA and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) over who was allowed to sign off
on work carried out on aircraft.
Mr Higgins, from High Blantyre in South Lanarkshire, had a 27-year unblemished career with the
airline. He was dismissed when he installed the wrong part on a plane at British Airways
Maintenance Glasgow (BAMG) in March last year.
He claims he made the mistake because he was under extreme pressure due to staffing problems, an
excessive workload and unreasonable timescales and said the error "did not compromise the safe
operation of the aircraft".
However, BA found that it did and dismissed him before offering him a demoted post on appeal - a
proposal which Mr Higgins rejected, leaving him to resign.
In a written statement submitted to an employment tribunal in Glasgow, Mr Higgins - who now
works for Monarch Airlines - said: "I raised concerns during 2006 and 2007 that BA was not
complying with full safety requirements in carrying out their aircraft maintenance.
"The disclosure I made was that at my workplace of British Airways, 80 per cent to 90 per cent of the
aircraft maintenance work was not being performed in strict compliance with CAA and European
Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) safety provisions.
"It was my belief that this was a serious safety lapse which could potentially result in fatalities."
Mr Higgins claimed he met with CAA officials to discuss his concerns, resulting in them issuing seven
findings of failure against BA and an EASA working group being set up to look at the issue.
However lawyer Samantha Cooper, acting for BA, suggested that neither were directly linked to Mr
Higgins's alleged disclosure.
Miss Cooper also suggested there was no basis for him to allege that the approach taken by BA was
contrary to regulations.
Mr Higgins replied: "I saw flaws with it."

BA manager Stuart McMahon said he had checked with the CAA and they had no record of Mr
Higgins's disclosures, however he accepted under cross-examination that this did not mean they had
not been made.
The tribunal was told that BAMG was seriously short-staffed on March 1 and 2 last year when Mr
Higgins was overseeing contractors working on an Airbus A321.
One of the contractors damaged a wire and Mr Higgins repaired it with a splice which turned out to
be the wrong one.
When he returned to work later that week he was suspended and claims he was told by a manager:
"I am so sorry. I can't have another Air Malaysian situation here and need to send you home."
BA argue that the repair Mr Higgins carried out was important to the safety of the plane. They also
claim he did not properly record the repair and failed to pick up on poor wiring by a contractor.
Miss Cooper put it to the engineer that supervisors had told him to just do what he could on the
days in question. He said he had tried to do that.
She accused Mr Higgins of being reckless and he replied: "I don't agree with that."
He added: "I did the best I could under the circumstances."
The tribunal also heard from BA manager Brian Queally who took the decision to dismiss Mr Higgins.
In a written statement, he said staff are never expected to "cut corners" due to time pressures,
adding: "The potential impact of the claimant's use of the incorrect splice was huge. If the splice
failed it could have affected the correct functioning of the landing gear, resulting in a potential
catastrophic incident."
The manager also said he had no knowledge of Mr Higgins's disclosures about safety concerns prior
to dismissing him.
The tribunal, before Employment Judge Susan Walker, continues.

Comment on Lufur Rahman and Tower Hamlets:

Lufur Bajlur Rahman was a left wing Labour politician who opposed austerity as best he could, part
of the leftist Ken Livingstone GLC opposition to Thatcher. Tower Hamlets, under his leadership,
supported the campaign against blacklisting see below. Of course no revolutionary but the
'establishment', could not and will not tolerate that. Look at the judgement. A bigoted Tory
Islamophobe, in coalition with a racist, bigoted Labour bureaucracy are desperate to let us know
that there is no future for the working class and oppressed poor other than serving the economic
and political interests of the masters of life, the global finance capitalist bankers and transnational
corporations.
The judge is a corrupt, ruling class bigot, the BBC Panorama is the organ of the state to tell us all that
our role in life is to enhance the privileges and profits of the ruling classes. And a mass media and
political class who will parrot the interests of the ruling class as some of the grovelling comments I
have seen on this do. What else are we here for if not to make sure that the capitalist and bankers
have no opposition to their domination of the planet?
Shame on those 'Rahman is corrupt' careerist bandwagoners in the Labour party and trade unions
who cheer because the Tory bigoted judge delivered his ruling on behalf of his class and privileges. Is
there any vestige of socialism left in the rotten souls of those who grovel in this way?

Mayor Rahman stands convicted of corruption although there is absolutely no proof presented that
he personally benefited in any way, he is corrupt because he defended the interests of the poor
and oppressed and mobilised too well in that cause, albeit not in a revolutionary way but in a radical
left reformist way. But this is altogether too much. Contrast this to the gaggle of Westminster
parliamentarian actually caught with their hands in the till in the expense scandals, stealing money
for personal enrichment, how sympathetically and leniently they were threated, with only the most
blatant cases punished. The old boys and girls network worked well for them.

The Daily Telegraph photo and article: Andy Erlam, Angela Moffat and Azmal Hussein, who
petitioned against Lutfur Rahman
Four people are needed and so Mr Erlam was joined by Angela Moffat, 47, a Ukip member, Azmal
Hussein, 63, a Brick Lane restaurateur, and Debbie Simone, 44, a Labour candidate who felt she too
had been cheated.
The Labour party candidate, Debbie Simone,, was obviously ashamed to be publicly photographed
with the UKIP bigot, Angela Moffat, but Ken Livingstone is not afraid to charge the Tower Hamlets
Labour party with racism and co-operating with UKIP to appeal to racist bigotry seems to confirm it.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/11560197/Lutfur-Rahman-petitioner-accuses-MetPolice-of-corruption.html

Council pledges to take action against the

blacklisting of workers
Tower Hamlets Council is the first council in the country to pledge to take action against the
blacklisting of workers in the borough.
An emergency motion, tabled at a meeting of the Full Council on September 18, was
unanimously agreed by all parties.
It formally stated the councils support of the GMB unions campaign against the blacklisting
of construction workers, a process whereby those workers perceived to be union activists
were prevented from accessing employment. The chamber also agreed that it would be
unacceptable for any company in a contractual relationship with the council to engage in
blacklisting.
The council resolved to support the pledge made by Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur
Rahman, to take action against blacklisting in Tower Hamlets.
Council members also resolved to invite the GMBs National Officer to address the next
meeting of Full Council to assist them in implementing the pledge.
Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman, said: Tower Hamlets was the first council to
introduce the London Living Wage in 2009 and we take the welfare and well-being of
working people very seriously. I am proud to say that not only does Tower Hamlets not have
any active contracts with the companies involved in this practice, but that it never will.
GMB has raised the profile of the practice of blacklisting workers by publishing a list of
companies that use a network of private investigators to compile databases of workers
perceived as union activists or agitators. Companies then used the database to run illegal
background checks and deny work to those on the list.
Len McCluskey, General Secretary of Unite the Union said: "Tower Hamlets is blazing a trail
by becoming the first London council to stamp out blacklisting. This is a fantastic
development and we commend the council for their positive action. We are urging other
councils to take note of the Tower Hamlets decision to ban the blacklisters and to follow
suit."
September 19, 2013

UCATT reports:

Welsh Government issues anti-blacklisting

guidance

In September 2013 the Welsh Government became the first devolved administration to issue
guidance to all public bodies and local authorities detailing how they could bar construction
companies involved in blacklisting from public sector contracts.
Prior to this a number of local authorities had already passed motions calling on companies
that had been involved in blacklisting to be barred from bidding for contracts.
Also in September 2013 Tower Hamlets Council became the first council to issue a pledge
not to award any contracts to any of the companies guilty of blacklisting workers.
Following the guidance issued by the Welsh Government, UCATT are urging all devolved
administrations and the British Government to issue similar guidance
http://www.ucatt.org.uk/welsh-government-issues-anti-blacklisting-guidance