Ex-union boss sacked from Unite pension scheme 'for complaining of discrimination'
A former employee of Britain’s biggest union has been sacked as a ‘trustee director’ of its pension scheme after alleging discrimination against 350 retired members of its staff who are in their 80s. Dave Marsh says he was informed he had been ‘removed’ from the role by Alex Ryan, the pension secretary of Unite the Union’s pension scheme in a telephone conversation.
He said he believes the Unite bosses think ‘if they get rid of me, the problem will go away’, but he added: “This has actually created more resolve than before among the affected 350 pensioners.” Meanwhile, a petition has also been raised on behalf of the affected former employees of Unite, who have an average of 80, two-thirds of whom are women and include many bereaved widows.
“In February, the general secretary refused a £3 per week increase of which two-thirds of the 350 are female. It's shameful and heartbreaking, so please sign the petition and send it to all your contacts. Who would have thought the biggest union in the UK can act in such a vindictive and spiteful manner against former trade unionists?"
The union is an amalgamation of several different unions which came together under one umbrella in 2013 as Unite along with their respective pension schemes. Mr Marsh has said that the way the pension scheme is constituted, increases for former members of the former electricians and engineering unions pre-1997 are at the discretion of the general secretary of Unite and the executive council.
"No problem," said Mr Marsh. "Except a number of the UPS trustees actively campaigned that this is members' money and any outstanding payments should be secured. This money would then go onto members who are on strike. This resulted in not one, but a number of members receiving demands in excess of £12,000 when they receive just over £400 per month pension.
“The individual was removed from his unpaid position after evidently sharing confidential trustee information. Confidence has been breached so all the other trustee directors felt they could no longer conduct business as usual and unanimously decided to remove the individual in the interests of all scheme members. This is within their legal power.
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