Trade unionist awaits sacking appeal

A VETERAN trade unionist who was sacked from his post will hear the result of his appeal in London tomorrow.

Mick O’Reilly, 56, has been fighting for the last two-and-a-half years to be reinstated as regional secretary of the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers Union (ATGWU).

“I haven’t had wages for the last 12 months. The union officers have collected for me,” Mr O’Reilly said.

By 10.30am tomorrow, he will know if the appeal has succeeded.

On June 26, 2001, he was suspended from his position by the union’s British parent, the Transport and General Worker’s Union. Mr O’Reilly was told to maintain a complete silence and had to wait a month before he learned of the charges against him.

They included financial irregularities, merging train drivers union ILDA into the ATGWU and the presence in the union’s Belfast office of a mug featuring a scantily-clad woman whose clothes disappeared when the cup was filled with hot liquid.

“The way they came for me, I had absolutely no chance. It was all tosh. And they went through my expenses with a fine toothcomb and found nothing,” said Mr O’Reilly.

However, the investigating committee headed by T&GWU leader Bill Morris, a confirmed opponent of Mr O’Reilly, sacked him last May, along with Eugene McGlone, his deputy in the union’s Belfast office.

Although the appeals committee is staffed by three Morris appointees, Mr O’Reilly is hopeful of a positive result. “Even a stitch-up needs a fig leaf. There is really so little evidence, so it may not go against me.”

The changing political climate in the T&GWU union is also encouraging for Mr O’Reilly. Bill Morris is retiring this year and the favourite to replace him is Tony Woodley, a Liverpool trade unionist. He is a strong supporter of Mr O’Reilly and is expected to reinstate him if elected.

Mr O’Reilly believes he was sacked to silence his anti-establishment views. A firm believer in socialism, he is one of the few Irish trade unionists to oppose the national pay agreements and has been frustrated by the ATGWU’s absence from the pay talks.

“The union would be briefed but they’re not involved in the negotiations. It’s the first time since 1922 that the union has had no representation at the talks,” he said.

The majority of the ATGWU’s 50,000 members have supported him. Over 70% of the union’s officers have voted to go on strike against their own union, which is like the cardinals voting against the pope, said Mr O’Reilly. The strike has been delayed, pending the outcome of this week’s appeal.