Newham council sack Unison chair

Michael Gavan, Unison chair at Newham council, east London, having been suspended as reported in a previous report in the socialist, was sacked on 21 November 2007.

The charges were that Unison planned to hold a meeting of refuse and cleaning staff in works time without permission, and that Michael had failed to pass on information regarding misuse of a council post franking machine, information which the council say must have been given to Michael by a TU member in the course of an investigation.

The meeting with refuse and cleaning staff never actually took place and Michael is clear he was not given the information stated in the second charge.

Unison is pursuing all legal avenues, with the first hearing on 14 December.

A one-day strike of Newham Council Unison members in Michael's support has been called for 13 December.

Michael will also be appealing against his dismissal, but under normal rules the appeals panel would be chaired by the Deputy Mayor, who has previously made disparaging remarks about Michael.

We are asking for maximum publicity within the trade union movement to persuade Newham council to view the evidence more objectively, and the Branch is also planning further publicity measures within Newham.

The Newham Branch has also made an appeal to Unison's London Region to be allowed to assist Michael in other ways in the meantime.