Mick Clifford: No united front as veteran trade unionist at odds with employer

Prominent trade unionist claims he is being marginalised and pushed out by Unite

Brendan Ogle has been removed from the Right2Water campaign, despite his role in initiating it and being the primary organiser.
Picture: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie

A worker is in trouble. He feels he’s being bullied, marginalised by management, pushed towards the door. Who you gonna call?

One of the first calls that might be recommended in such a scenario would be to Brendan Ogle, probably the most prominent trade union figure of the last 20 years or so. He has a reputation for taking on management in situations where he feels workers are getting a raw deal, often even as fellow trade unionists might hesitate and look for a more pliable alternative.

There is a worker in trouble right now and it’s not clear who he can call because his name is Brendan Ogle. As reported in Tuesday's Irish Examiner, 54-year-old Ogle is, according to his wife Mandy La Combre, being marginalised and pushed towards the door by his employer, the union Unite.

That the management in this case is a trade union adds plenty of heft to the story. That the scenario is unfolding against a background in which Ogle has recovered from a serious illness reflects poorly on a union which would claim to hold the dignity and welfare of workers in the highest esteem.

On a Facebook post at the weekend, Ms La Combre said that there was a deliberate strategy to sideline him.

“This is clearly a deliberate exercise in isolating him from any of his normal union duties and an attempt to keep him away from others in Unite who respect him and are wondering where he is now that he has returned,” she wrote.

Internal politics

Sources in the union suggest that what is at issue is internal politics. Unite is run, to the greatest extent, by its UK parent organisation. 

Last year, while Ogle was absent with his illness, Sharon Graham was elected general secretary of the union. There has been a number of changes of personnel in the UK since then, and some speculate that this development is an extension of that restructuring.

What is indisputable is that Ogle’s profile and experience has been a huge boon to the union as it built up membership in this country.

Since first coming to public notice in 2000, as general secretary of the Irish Locomotive Drivers Association (ILDA) he has been regarded as a tough operator who goes the extra mile for union members. 

In 2000, he led a three-month rail strike over pay and conditions for ILDA members, despite Siptu and the National Bus and Rail Union having both reached agreement with management.

Later he was appointed head of the ESB group of unions and in 2013 he threatened to bring his members out of strike if their pension entitlements were not properly adhered to.

The result of that dispute, and his earlier activity with the ILDA, led to his being demonised in sections of politics and the media.

Water campaign

After joining Unite, he was prominently involved in the water charges protests and has led the campaign for a referendum to retain Irish Water in public ownership.

Now, since his return to work, he has been removed from the campaign, despite his role in initiating it and being the primary organiser.

At Christmas 2016, he was one of the main activists in the occupation of Apollo House in Dublin which set up accommodation for dozens of people who had been sleeping rough. Two years later he intimated he would be starting a new political party but that ultimately came to naught.

Where he goes from here remains to be seen, but this is not a good look for a trade union that purports to represent the best interests of employees, including, presumably, its own.