Welcome to the General Federation of Trade Unions

It has been a great honour and privilege to have held the office of General Secretary of the General Federation for the last eighteen years.

For a working class kid from Pheasey Estate, Great Barr, Birmingham who’s dad was a tyre builder at Dunlop (A GMBMember) and who’s mom made Zips at Lightening Fastner Witton (TGWU Member) to become only the sixth General Secretary in the 112 year history of the GFTU was way beyond my wildest dreams when I joined my first Trade Union in 1971, or indeed when I first became employed by a union in 1980.

I joined a union the first day that I commenced employment on 5 April 1971. My employer was the Inland Revenue and the Union was the Inland Revenue Staff Federation now part of PCS. In 1973 I became a staff representative for IRSF. You can imagine how popular I was: A tax collector and a Union rep!

In 1974 I went to work in the wages office at HP Sauce and joined the Transport and General Workers Union. It was a closed shop and in 1976 I became branch secretary of 5/631 Branch which at that time had about 180 members. In 1977 I became a representative to the association of clerical, technical and supervisory staff Birmingham District Committee.

In 1980 I went to work for TGWU as a researcher at the West Bromwich Regional Office. In 1982 I joined the National union of Lock and Metal Workers as staff section organiser and became General Secretary of that Union in 1988.

During the course of my trade union work I have been fortunate enough to have worked with some great people; to have met a large number of wonderful human beings, some of whom I am proud to call personal friends; and to have visited a large number of memorable places. I have met with Trade Unionists in Denmark, France, Zimbabwe, Russia, Argentina, Cuba, USA, Switzerland, Luxemborough, Netherlands, Belgium, Brazil, Vietnam, Ireland and Canada.

The General Secretary of GFTU is a temporary custodian of the office. We keep it in trust handed down from generations long before we were born and keeping it safe and secure to hand on to generations including those yet to be born. I have tried my best to be a faithful custodian of the office during my term.

Since 1994, 18 new affiliates have joined the GFTU including most in this room tonight. This is a testament to all connected with the federation, particularly the excellent team of staff employed at Headland House. Affiliation fees totalled £33,000 in 1993, this year they will exceed £170,000. The training and education programme is three times larger than in 1993. In my 18 years I have attended 178 Executive Committee meetings; 54 Trustees of the Educational Trust meetings and 68 Trustee of the Pension Scheme. In 18 years I have not missed or had to cancel one of these meetings, a record I am very proud of.

It is invidious to start mentioning individuals but I must make one exception. Jan has been my love, support, inspiration and my partner throughout the last 43 years of my life. I have been an incredibly lucky man!

I first met Jan in 1968. I was getting off the school bus and she was walking her dog. I went a long way to find her. I lived at 35 Morland Road and she at 3 Morland Road!

That evening she went home to her mother and said there is this strange boy (she was right there) smiling at me. Her mother replied ‘why don’t you smile back?’ Big mistake; never listen to what your mother tells you.

The next day I plucked up enough courage to talk to her. She responded politely but her dog bit me! Fortunately for me the dog had more sense than her!

It just remains for me to wish everyone connected with the GFTU health, happiness, and success in the future. It is a great organisation and the proudest day of my professional life was when I was elected General Secretary on 8 May 1993.

For my self I am looking forward to having a good work/life balance. There are so many places in the UK that we have not yet seen, so many great book that I have not yet read and so much more music that I want to hear. And I may find time to pay the off visit to Edgbaston and St. Andrews.

I will still be playing a part in this great movement of ours. I will remain as a member of employment tribunals in Birmingham. I was appointed in 1992 and look forward to hearing challenging discrimination, equal pay, and pension cases in the future. Unless the Tories abolish them!

Thank you for giving me the honour and privilege of being General Secretary of the General Federation of Trade Unions.