Derek Simpson (trade unionist)
Encyclopedia
Derek Simpson is the former Joint General Secretary
of the UK's biggest private-sector trade union
, Unite from 2007 until 2010. He was General Secretary of the Amicus
trade union from 2002 until its merger with the Transport and General Workers' Union
to form Unite in 2007.
. He was an only child with an absent father. He attended Sheffield Central Technical School
(a technical school
, which transferred to the Ashleigh School in Gleadless and was then demolished having merged to become Myrtle Springs School which is now Sheffield Springs Academy
).
In 1987 he received an Open University
BSc
in Computing and Mathematics. He was appointed an honorary fellow of Sheffield Hallam University
in 1999.
Tools, then Balfour Darwin from 1966–81, then working full-time as a union official.
". In 1981 he became a full-time union official, becoming the AEU's District Secretary for Sheffield. He was still working for the union in that city when he stood for the position of Joint General Secretary in 2002.
Section of Amicus. He beat Tony Blair
's 'favourite trade unionist' - Sir Ken Jackson. He assumed the position of General Secretary in May 2004 following the departure of the MSF
Section's JGS, Roger Lyons
.
In the above election, Simpson was seen as the left candidate, and was backed by the broad left
in the AEEU, now known as Amicus Unity Gazette. During this election campaign he appeared at fringe meetings of the Amicus MSF
section conference in Blackpool
, defying an instruction from Jackson not to attend. He was still identified with the Unity Gazette and appeared at their national meetings until 2008, when he helped launch a rival "Workers Uniting Group".
Simpson has repeatedly denied press claims, that he was part of the "Awkward Squad
" of trade union leaders opposed to New Labour policies, that they perceive to be against the interests of working people. Simpson stated that he is not in the awkward squad: "I get named as such, but it's astonishing that nobody's able to back that up with any fact".
Since becoming General Secretary, he has been supportive of the links between Amicus and the Labour Party. A member of the Communist Party of Great Britain
until its disbanding in 1991, he joined the Labour Party in 1994. He was involved in the negotiation that let to the 2004 Warwick Agreement
, in which the Labour Party agreed to implement some of the trade unions' policies during their third term. He favoured the early departure of Tony Blair
as Labour Party Leader and Prime Minister.
In May 2010, during confidential negotiations with British Airways
under the chairmanship of conciliation service Acas
to resolve an ongoing dispute, Simpson was found to be using his BlackBerry
to update his Twitter
account with progress of the confidential negotiations.
A 2011 report by The TaxPayers' Alliance
revealed that Derek Simpson's total compensation for the period 2010-2011 was £510,659, making him the highest paid Trade Union boss in the United Kingdom.
, parading the dogs and setting the trap
s. They married on 23 December 1967 in Sheffield. They divorced in 1974, and in 1976 Simpson married Linda Gilliver; they have two sons (born 1980 and September 1986) and a daughter (born 1982). Simpson then divorced Linda, and remarried Freda, who has two sons (born 1979 and August 1984) and a daughter (born 1977) from her previous marriage. They live in an £800,000 grace-and-favour house in Berkhamsted
, Hertfordshire
provided by Unite for the duration of Simpson's entire lifetime or that of his most recent partner, whichever is longer.
Simpson is a keen chess
player, and likes Star Trek
.
General Secretary
The office of general secretary is staffed by the chief officer of:*The General Secretariat for Macedonia and Thrace, a government agency for the Greek regions of Macedonia and Thrace...
of the UK's biggest private-sector trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
, Unite from 2007 until 2010. He was General Secretary of the Amicus
Amicus
Amicus was the United Kingdom's second-largest trade union, and the largest private sector union, formed by the merger of Manufacturing Science and Finance, the AEEU agreed in 2001, and two smaller unions, UNIFI and the GPMU...
trade union from 2002 until its merger with the Transport and General Workers' Union
Transport and General Workers' Union
The Transport and General Workers' Union, also known as the TGWU and the T&G, was one of the largest general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland - where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union - with 900,000 members...
to form Unite in 2007.
Early life
Derek Simpson was born and educated in SheffieldSheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
. He was an only child with an absent father. He attended Sheffield Central Technical School
Sheffield Central Technical School
The former Sheffield Central Technical School was housed in the collection of buildings now called Leopold Square in the city centre of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England...
(a technical school
Secondary Technical School
A Secondary Technical School was a type of secondary school in the United Kingdom that existed in the mid-20th century under the Tripartite System of education. For various reasons few were ever built, and their main interest is on a theoretical level....
, which transferred to the Ashleigh School in Gleadless and was then demolished having merged to become Myrtle Springs School which is now Sheffield Springs Academy
Sheffield Springs Academy
The Sheffield Springs Academy in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, is one of three Academies in the city, alongside Sheffield Park Academy and Parkwood Academy. Sheffield Springs Academy has over 1,125 students aged 11–18, and opened in September 2006...
).
In 1987 he received an Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
BSc
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in Computing and Mathematics. He was appointed an honorary fellow of Sheffield Hallam University
Sheffield Hallam University
Sheffield Hallam University is a higher education institution in South Yorkshire, England, based on two sites in Sheffield. City Campus is located in the city centre, close to Sheffield railway station, and Collegiate Crescent Campus is about two miles away, adjacent to Ecclesall Road in...
in 1999.
Career
From 1960-66 he worked for Firth BrownFirth Brown Steels
Firth Brown Steels was initially formed in 1902, when Sheffield steelmakers John Brown and Company exchanged shares and came to a working agreement with neighbouring company Thomas Firth & Sons...
Tools, then Balfour Darwin from 1966–81, then working full-time as a union official.
AEU
He joined the Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU) on becoming an apprentice at the age of 15. He became an AEU shop steward at Balfour Darwin in 1967 and held a number of increasingly senior union positions in workplaces where he was employed, learning his politics in what described as "the socialist republic of South YorkshirePeople's Republic of South Yorkshire
The People's Republic of South Yorkshire or The Socialist Republic of South Yorkshire, is a satirical reference to Sheffield. It refers to the left-wing Labour administration of Sheffield City Council during the 1980s, under the leadership of David Blunkett.The expression is said to have been...
". In 1981 he became a full-time union official, becoming the AEU's District Secretary for Sheffield. He was still working for the union in that city when he stood for the position of Joint General Secretary in 2002.
General Secretary of Amicus
Simpson was the surprise winner of the June 2002 election for the position of Joint General Secretary of the AEEUAmalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union
The Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union was a British trade union. It merged with the MSF to form Amicus in 2001.The history of the union can be traced back to the formation of the "Old Mechanics" of 1826, which grew into the Amalgamated Society of Engineers in 1851...
Section of Amicus. He beat Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
's 'favourite trade unionist' - Sir Ken Jackson. He assumed the position of General Secretary in May 2004 following the departure of the MSF
Manufacturing, Science and Finance
Manufacturing, Science and Finance was a trade union in Britain...
Section's JGS, Roger Lyons
Roger Lyons
Roger Lyons was the General Secretary of the MSF trade union from 1992 and re-elected leader of the union in 1997. When the union merged with the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union to form Amicus in 2002 he subsequently became one of the Joint General Secretaries of Amicus.Lyons studied...
.
In the above election, Simpson was seen as the left candidate, and was backed by the broad left
Broad left
Broad Left is a coalition of left members, usually involving independents, members of the Labour Party, and members of organised revolutionary leftist movements within a trade union. Several groups are described by the term....
in the AEEU, now known as Amicus Unity Gazette. During this election campaign he appeared at fringe meetings of the Amicus MSF
Manufacturing, Science and Finance
Manufacturing, Science and Finance was a trade union in Britain...
section conference in Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
, defying an instruction from Jackson not to attend. He was still identified with the Unity Gazette and appeared at their national meetings until 2008, when he helped launch a rival "Workers Uniting Group".
Simpson has repeatedly denied press claims, that he was part of the "Awkward Squad
Awkward Squad (trade unions)
The Awkward Squad is an informal grouping of socialist trade unionists in the United Kingdom. The term was given in 2002-3 to those that opposed what they regarded as the economically liberal policies of the ruling New Labour faction of the Labour Party...
" of trade union leaders opposed to New Labour policies, that they perceive to be against the interests of working people. Simpson stated that he is not in the awkward squad: "I get named as such, but it's astonishing that nobody's able to back that up with any fact".
Since becoming General Secretary, he has been supportive of the links between Amicus and the Labour Party. A member of the Communist Party of Great Britain
Communist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
until its disbanding in 1991, he joined the Labour Party in 1994. He was involved in the negotiation that let to the 2004 Warwick Agreement
Warwick Agreement
The Warwick Agreement is the name of a document agreed in July 2004 to the 2005 General Election between many of Britain's main trade unions and the Labour Party, which helped form Labour's 2005 election manifesto....
, in which the Labour Party agreed to implement some of the trade unions' policies during their third term. He favoured the early departure of Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
as Labour Party Leader and Prime Minister.
Joint General Secretary of Unite
On 9 October 2008 the Executive Council of Unite decided that there would be an election for the General Secretary (Amicus section), with a timetable of January/February 2009 for the election, the results to be announced in March 2009. This election was for a fixed term until December 2010. The Executive council also postponed the merger of the union and adoption of the new rule book until May 2009.In May 2010, during confidential negotiations with British Airways
British Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
under the chairmanship of conciliation service Acas
Acas
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service is a Crown non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom. Its purpose is to improve organisations and working life through the promotion and facilitation of strong industrial relations practice...
to resolve an ongoing dispute, Simpson was found to be using his BlackBerry
BlackBerry
BlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...
to update his Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
account with progress of the confidential negotiations.
A 2011 report by The TaxPayers' Alliance
TaxPayers' Alliance
The TaxPayers' Alliance is a British pressure group and taxpayers union formed in 2004 to campaign for a low tax society. The group had about 18,000 registered supporters as of 2008, and claimed to have 55,000 by September 2010....
revealed that Derek Simpson's total compensation for the period 2010-2011 was £510,659, making him the highest paid Trade Union boss in the United Kingdom.
Personal life
Simpson met his first wife Freda when working at a greyhound trackGreyhound racing
Greyhound racing is the sport of racing greyhounds. The dogs chase a lure on a track until they arrive at the finish line. The one that arrives first is the winner....
, parading the dogs and setting the trap
Dog door
A dog door is a hinged or spring operated door rather than the more commonly known 'flap' set into a door, wall or window to allow dogs to enter and exit a house on their own without needing a person to open the door. Flaps are hung from the top of the opening and do exactly that - flap. Dog doors...
s. They married on 23 December 1967 in Sheffield. They divorced in 1974, and in 1976 Simpson married Linda Gilliver; they have two sons (born 1980 and September 1986) and a daughter (born 1982). Simpson then divorced Linda, and remarried Freda, who has two sons (born 1979 and August 1984) and a daughter (born 1977) from her previous marriage. They live in an £800,000 grace-and-favour house in Berkhamsted
Berkhamsted
-Climate:Berkhamsted experiences an oceanic climate similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.-Castle:...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
provided by Unite for the duration of Simpson's entire lifetime or that of his most recent partner, whichever is longer.
Simpson is a keen chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
player, and likes Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
.
External links
- A message from Unite's joint general secretaries Unite
- Key players in union movement BBC News, 5 September 2007
News items
- Scourge of fat cats Derek Simpson accused over a £400 hotel room Mail Online, 2 March 2009 - Expenses in March 2009
- On a 'working' trip to Cuba, union boss is Havana The Sun, 8 November 2008 - On holiday in Cuba in November 2008