Latest news with #union
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Union militants kick out Angela Rayner as Birmingham bin war threaten to plunge Labour into another civil war
Unite says it has stripped of her Unite membership after she criticised striking bin workers in Birmingham who left the city a rat-infested mess. Members of the powerful hard left union voted to suspend her at its policy conference in Brighton today over her criticism of the walk out that led to bags of waste piling up in the streets. The union also said it will 're-examine its relationship' with Labour over its refusal to side with workers - a clear threat to pull the millions it gives in funding every year. However there is some debate over whether Ms Rayner is still in Unite and eligible to be suspended. She is understood to have resigned her membership several months ago, though she is still listed as an active member. She urged refuse staff to accept a pay offer in April, saying their strike was 'causing misery and disruption' for residents. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said today that the union would 'call out bad employers regardless of the colour of their rosette'. 'Angela Rayner has had every opportunity to intervene and resolve this dispute but has instead backed a rogue council that has peddled lies and smeared its workers fighting huge pay cuts,' she said. 'The disgraceful actions of the government and a so-called Labour council, is essentially fire and rehire and makes a joke of the Employment Relations Act promises. 'People up and down the country are asking whose side is the Labour government on and coming up with the answer not workers.' It is not the first time Unite has threatened to pull its money when it has not got its way. Bin workers walked out in March over planned pay changes by the cash-strapped city council. Unite said the deal would have included 'substantial' pay cuts for workers and did not address potential pay cuts for 200 drivers. People living in the city say their health suffered from the stench of piling waste while 'cat-sized' rats raided the mounting rubbish outside their homes. Visiting the city in April with Local Government Minister, Jim McMahon, Ms Rayner said: 'The people of Birmingham are our first priority – this dispute is causing misery and disruption to residents and the backlog must be dealt with quickly to address public health risks. 'My department is working with Birmingham City Council to support its response to accelerate clearing the backlog and rapidly improve the situation on the ground. Neighbouring authorities are providing additional vehicles and crews, and we are providing logistical support. 'I have pressed both sides to negotiate at pace to urgently find a resolution. There is now a better offer on the table and I would urge Unite to suspend the action and accept the improved deal so we achieve fairness for both workers and residents of this city.' Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said today that the union would 'call out bad employers regardless of the colour of their rosette'. Earlier this year the Mail revealed this week that Union bosses behind strikes which have left the streets of Birmingham piled high with rotting waste are directing the action from outside of the city - in leafy suburbs with regular bin collections. A Downing Street spokesman said the Government's priority throughout the dispute had 'always' been Birmingham's residents. The strikes have resulted in unsanitary conditions throughout the city, with large piles of rubbish in the streets. The No 10 spokesman also told reporters: 'As you know, Unite's industrial action caused disruption to waste collection. 'We have worked intensively with the council to tackle the backlog and clean up the streets for the residents for public health. 'We remain in close contact with the council and continue to monitor the situation as we support its recovery and transformation 'I think it's important to look back to the context of this dispute: Unite is in dispute against Birmingham City Council's decision to reform unfair staff structures, which were a major cause of unequal pay claims and left the council liable to hundreds of millions of pounds in claims, and that was a key factor cited in the council section 114 notice in 2023, declaring bankruptcy.' Shadow communities secretary Kevin Hollinrake said Ms Rayner 'faces a serious conflict of interest, having accepted thousands of pounds from the Unite union to fund her general election campaign'. He added: 'Unions like Unite rarely offer financial support without expecting something in return — and we're already seeing the consequences in their aggressive demands to dismantle key trade union laws. 'It's time for all Labour ministers and the Labour-led council to take a firm stand against these militant unions. A good place to start would be suspending taxpayer-funded ''facility time'' for Unite while their members are on strike.'
The Sun
19 hours ago
- Business
- The Sun
Leftie union boss Len McCluskey took private jet rides from building firm that overcharged Unite by £30m, report reveals
LEFTIE union baron Len McCluskey took private plane flights and football tickets from a building firm, a report reveals. The firm is also said to have overcharged Unite by at least £30million for building a £96million hotel. An internal investigation by the union said the Flanagan Group, run by pals of McCluskey, was handed the job to build the hotel complex in Birmingham without a single rival bid. Sharon Graham, who has since replaced McCluskey as Unite general secretary, hired barrister Martin Bowdery KC in 2021 after she found a £125million black hole in the union's accounts. She told the BBC: 'I was absolutely astounded. It's either rank incompetence, or something else.' The report, seen by the BBC, says McCluskey ignored legal advice and personally signed off the building contract. He later got private flights to two Liverpool Champions League finals on planes arranged and paid for by the Flanagan Group. Unite said there is no evidence he ever paid them back. The report also said he got tickets to five Liverpool matches, four with hospitality. McCluskey's lawyers told the BBC he paid for his own travel in full and always paid for his football tickets. They claim he does not recall signing the main contract and denies overruling anyone. The hotel ended up swallowing £125million of Unite cash and is now worth just £38million. Union boss Len McCluskey torn apart by voter after defending Corbyn in fiery LBC interview Ms Graham has brought in new auditors, staff and a crackdown on dodgy deals. The Flanagan Group refused to comment but previously claimed the project was 'an exceptional asset'.
Telegraph
20 hours ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Len McCluskey took private jet paid for by company given union contracts
A former boss of Unite took a private jet paid for by a firm that is building a hotel for the union, an investigation has found. Len McCluskey, who was the Unite general secretary for a decade, also attended football matches with the firm's representatives, who paid for the tickets. An investigation ordered by Sharon Graham, Mr McCluskey's successor, found the Labour-affiliated union was overcharged for the construction of the hotel in Birmingham by at least £30m. It spent almost £100m on the hotel and conference centre after costs ballooned over the course of its construction. The company, which BBC News has reported to be the Flanagan Group, was run by people described by Mr McCluskey as 'good friends' of his. The report, published on Tuesday, said the former union boss signed the contracts and 'overruled Unite staff who raised questions about the firm, and overruled lawyers who advised against the contracts'. Mr McCluskey has argued that the decisions around the hotel contractors were made by the union's former finance director, who died in 2020, but the report was unable to confirm it. 'Getting to truth has been ugly' Ms Graham told Unite representatives that 'getting to the truth has been ugly' but promised that she would work to get the union's money back. According to the internal report, emails showed that the company 'arranged football final tickets and flights for him [Mr MCluskey] including at least one private jet flight'. It added: 'The evidence for this comes from tickets and flight information sent to Len McCluskey's Unite email. There is no indication that Len McCluskey later reimbursed them.' The emails showed that Mr McCluskey received tickets and flights to the Champions League Final in Kyiv in 2018 and the same final in Madrid the following year. He also appeared to attend at least five Liverpool FC matches, four with matchday hospitality. There is no suggestion Mr McCluskey breached any gifts or hospitality rules, because the union did not have a policy while he was leader. Ms Graham introduced a gifts and hospitality policy after becoming general secretary. 'Asset for the union' Mr McCluskey's lawyers told the BBC that he paid for his travel in full and recalled travelling with a commercial carrier on one of the flights. They added that he had occasionally attended football matches with the Flanagan Group but paid his way and did not believe he even attended all the domestic matches claimed by the report. Mr McCluskey and Flanagan Group have previously said cost overruns were partly because of the hotel project using unionised labour. The Flanagan Group declined to comment to The Telegraph, but have previously told the BBC: 'We would like to make it clear that this scheme was delivered fairly and should be regarded as an exceptional asset for the union.'
The Guardian
20 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Len McCluskey took private jet flights arranged by building firm, report claims
Len McCluskey, the former head of Unite, accepted private jet flights and football tickets arranged by the company building a multimillion pound hotel for the union, according to an internal dossier. The Flanagan Group, which is run by friends of McCluskey, overcharged Unite by at least £30m for the Birmingham hotel and conference centre project, the interim report said. It also found that McCluskey 'overruled' advice from staff and the union's lawyers in signing the construction contract with the Flanagan Group. Unite's report said the flights and tickets were 'consistently organised and paid for by' the company and there was 'no indication' that McCluskey later reimbursed them. McCluskey's lawyers, Carter-Ruck, have been approached for a comment by the Guardian. They told the BBC he paid for his travel in full, and, to his recollection, always did the same for his football tickets. He denied he had overruled staff or lawyers. The Flanagan Group did not respond to requests from the BBC and the Guardian for comment. McCluskey, who was Unite's general secretary between 2010 and 2021, was a key player in the labour movement and the leading financial backer of Jeremy Corbyn when Corbyn was Labour leader. The spiralling costs of the Unite hotel in Birmingham, which was supposed to be a financial investment, have hung over the union for years. The Serious Fraud Office launched an inquiry into the project last year. Sharon Graham, who replaced McCluskey as general secretary, commissioned a specialist construction lawyer, Martin Bowdery KC, to investigate the project's costs and accounts. A summary of his interim report, seen by the Guardian, said: The union spent 'at least' £72m more than the hotel complex was worth. Unite awarded the Flanagan Group the contract to build the hotel with 'no competitive tendering process' and despite the company 'having a history of poor performance, delays … and cost overruns on previous contracts'. McCluskey described the company's bosses as 'good friends'. A £400,000 union loan towards the purchase of a £700,000 flat for McCluskey had not been authorised by the executive committee in advance. McCluskey's lawyers said he was not aware of the concerns of staff or union lawyers at the time the construction contract was signed, did not recall signing the main contract and was not involved in the decision to select the Flanagan Group. His lawyers have said he categorically rejected any suggestion of improper dealings. McCluskey took flights to watch his team, Liverpool FC, play in the 2018 and 2019 Champions League finals in Kyiv and Madrid, according to Unite's report. It said McCluskey received tickets for five Liverpool games in the UK, four of which included matchday hospitality. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Headlines UK Free newsletter Get the day's headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion It said 'the evidence for this comes from tickets and flight information sent to Len McCluskey's Unite email'. McCluskey's lawyers told the BBC he paid for his travel in full and recalled travelling with a commercial carrier on one of the flights. They said he occasionally attended football matches with the Flanagans but invariably paid his way and did not believe he attended all the domestic matches detailed in Unite's report. Initial estimates for the hotel project in 2012 suggested it would cost around £7m. In the end, Flanagan Group was paid a £96m for its work on the four-star hotel and conference centre, which opened for business in 2021. In his report, Bowdery said £30m of that was overcharging and the company submitted bills 'massively over the original estimates'. In one instance it is claimed the company charged £1.3m for work that should have cost £90,000. The Flanagan Group was also paid £3.7m for adverse weather delays even though it was 'not entitled to extra payments for adverse weather', the report states. The company did not respond to repeated requests for comment but has previously told the BBC it was proud of its work on the scheme and costs had risen because of 'radical changes to design and working practices'. According to the report, McCluskey said the decision to appoint the Flanagan Group was made by Unite's former finance director, Ed Sabisky, who died in March 2020. The report said that McCluskey signed the main contract.
CTV News
20 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
‘Our goal has never been a strike': Local Canada Post workers reeling from 2-year ‘mess'
As unionized workers once again vote on Canada Post's latest contract offer across the country, the president of Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) Local 730 in Alberta said his members are feeling 'pretty tired.' 'I mean, we've been doing this for two years … So everybody's pretty tired, but I think overall morale is still pretty good,' said James Ball. CUPW Local 730 represents about 2,700 of 55,000 unionized postal service workers ranging from Jasper east to Lloydminster and Lac La Biche south to Ponoka. The vote on a new contract began Monday and will be open to CUPW members until Aug. 1. Ball said the newest contract is the same offer as the one given to them by the Crown corporation back in November 2023. The offer includes wage hikes of about 13 per cent over four years. It also adds part-time workers Canada Post has said are necessary to keep the postal service alive. 'It's a mess,' Ball said. Recently, some CUPW negotiators have urged members to vote against the contract. Ball still said he sees a strike vote among his members as 'unlikely.' 'Our goal has always been to get a negotiated contract,' he said. 'Our goal has never been to strike.' A Canada Post spokesperson said the Crown corporation had operating losses amounting to $10 million a day through June, and in the event the vote is negative, the uncertainty will continue. In the meantime, though, Ball said many workers are refusing overtime until a negotiation is made. 'The only two pathways out of this are negotiation and arbitration … if they choose to lock us out, then they're just there to punish us for not giving them exactly what they wanted the whole time.' According to a survey released Monday by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), a postal strike could push 63 per cent of businesses to walk away from Canada Post permanently. CFIB also said 70 per cent of businesses have encouraged customers to use digital methods, 45 per cent have switched to private couriers and 27 per cent delayed their mail altogether. With files from the Canadian Press, CTV News Edmonton's Darcy Seaton and
