Liverpool GMB leave and join another Union ....in my opinion

The contents of this material is an opinion.








People have asked me what did I write for my appeal...did I stick to the facts? Did the Union support me?



Yes I stuck to the facts and no in my opinion the GMB Liverpool did not support me.



When I actually went to Tribunal, it was bought to my attention that the Union had worked in conjunction with the Liverpool City Council. I strongly advise anyone who is a member of the GMB in Liverpool to leave and join another Union. I would also point on that the GMB claim to have legal representation...indeed they do...on a no win no fee basis. In plain English they cherry pick cases.



A few days before my Grievance I had meeting with Arthur Moss and Glen Thornton, they advised me against, the grievance. My instincts told me to carry on. Moss at one point phoned me and told me the Council was full of J.W's. One bully is too many and if the Union Rep has this attitude what chance has anyone else of stamping out bullying full stop.



Before the grievance I explained to Arthur, I had briefly sought legal advise, his response was that he could not represent me. I pointed out it was a five minute phone call. This was directly before I was due to attend the grievance hearing Moss got up and was going to walk out. During the grievance Moss sat there and picked his nails and said nothing except to interject that I was offered redeployment right away....which I was not. When I stated I wanted to take a grievance out against Ann Gill as I felt she had colluded with J.W he then advised me against it.



The Grievance was not upheld. The witnesses were not asked on bullying and oppressive behaviour.



I then wanted to Appeal, for health reasons I did not attend, I asked for a written appeal, this was also not upheld.



Moss did not assist me in writing the Appeal or with the Grievance.



I asked to see a Solicitor, which lasted for about 5 minutes as I had septic tonsillitis and Moss had a meeting to attend to. I was late as I was told it was the previous week.



The Solicitor wrote advising me to go back to work, despite the fact I was off with depression and was not capable of going back to work.



Moss kept stating he was concerned that I could be finished on grounds of incapability, it transpired that HR had been in contact with Moss, and also discussed this with him.



After the appeal was not upheld. I emailed moss... his response was: "he was no longer dealing with this case".



Moss was a full time Union Official paid for by Liverpool City Council... so obviously there was bound to be a conflict of interests.



I then started a petition called 08Bullying...Glyn Thornton asked for a meeting said it was to discuss a third grievance that I was trying to raise called, "Flawed Grievance"...When I arrived at Thornton's Office, fantastic view of the waterfront, (GMB members are paying for this). His first words was this has got to stop...I had emailed Gordon Brown...he asked me if I thought it would make any difference...I said "No but makes me feel better". He then mentioned the 08Bullying petition on several occasions..it was apparent the only reason Thornton had arranged this meeting was to put a stop to this petition. Thornton said that he could arrange a compromise agreement for me which would amount to about £15,000. I asked him to put it in writing. He sat there looked me in the eye..and said "I don't believe you have been bullied". This is the area manager or whatever for Liverpool. My response was that I did not wish to work with a load of lazy bastards..(should not of said this, I was upset and said the first thing that came into my head). He just looked with a smug nasty smile when I said this. He mentioned the 08Bullying petition again and said that I could be disciplined for the petition...etc. I was upset after the meeting and so I put the petition on the Pete Price website. Strange you pay your Union fees and you expect to be supported, I received no support. I had breakdown, and the Union caused me more upset



I carried on emailing people, campaigning for a change of legislation, received a letter from Thornton, which I disregarded, as I did not trust him.



I received an email from Thornton stating:



----- Original Message -----



From: Thornton Glyn (NW)

To: vicky

Cc: Moss, Arthur ; McCarthy Paul (NW)

Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2008 12:26 PM

Subject: Letter

Vicky



Further to your most recent email to Steven Richardson. May I raise three points with you.



1 I wrote to you on 6 March 2008 and to date, have not received any response. I would be most grateful if you could let me know which way you want me to handle the case.

2 If the Council is instigating any form of disciplinary action against you, please let me know immediately.



3 As I have previously informed you, I am the GMB Officer who deals with LCC and Paul McCarthy is the Regional Secretary for our region. It would be more appropriate to copy me into any emails you are sending to the Council and I would be more than willing to meet with you at any time to discuss how you should respond.



Glyn



My response was to email him telling him not to contact me via phone, email or letter that I wanted nothing more to do with him.



I emailed Paul McCarthy asking for support for the 08Bullying petition, I heard nothing from him.



Rose Conroy sent the following email and then never got back in contact with me. Is it in the GMB's interest not to implement a change in Legislation or do they just work in with management and are too busy having away days/weeks at the expense of their members?



----- Original Message -----



From: "Conroy Rose



To: "vicky"



Sent: Monday, May 05, 2008 7:15 AM



Subject: RE: 08Bullying



Dear Vicky



Quite right. Are you a member of GMB?









Rose



-----Original Message-----









From: vicky









> Sent: Sun 04/05/2008 22:32









> To: Conroy Rose (WI)









> Cc:









> Subject: 08Bullying



Dear Ms Conroy



Bullying and Oppressive Behaviour Liverpool City Council



I was bullied by a manager for over 12 months. I made a formal complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman with regards to the way Liverpool City Council dealt with my Grievance and Appeal. I was informed that they were unable to investigate personnel matters. The Grievance was based on Bullying and Oppressive Behaviour the witness’ where not questioned on these matters.









There are public policy issues beyond my individual dispute in the way in which the system is administered, the inability for a grievance to be addressed fairly and dispassionately, the need for the equivalent of an ombudsman to be able to investigate such contested cases.



There are 34 County Councils and 238 District Councils in England, 32 in Scotland and 22 in Wales. How many employees have been subjected to Bullying and Oppressive Behaviour by managers who have in effect dealt with the matters internally and reached the required result the council wishes to achieve. Local councils investigate there own complaints, which I feel is a conflict of interest.



I feel this matter needs addressing and the way to achieve this is through Legislation in the House of Commons, by introducing a Local Government Bill, or Parliament to extend the powers of the Local Government Ombudsman to include personnel issues. Could you please ask your members to sign my petition? http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/08Bullying/



I feel the law needs to be changed, everyone pays council tax, how much council revenue is spent on sickness as staff are absent due to stress/depression brought on by bullying, there is also the cost to the National Health Service, as there is need for psychiatric help and medication. When the person either resigns or is made redundant on health grounds as they are unable to work due to there awful experience they then claim incapacity benefit thus putting a drain on the Department of Works and Pensions.



I feel if the Local Government Ombudsman dealt with complaints this would assist in resolving a lot of the above issues I have mentioned. As a tax payer how many people are off sick in your local council due to bullying behaviour by management. You could always ask Under the Freedom of Information Act how many are absent with Depression/Stress, I think you will be surprised at the figures you receive. The Police don't investigate themselves. Yet local councils investigate complaints within there own department. I think you may find this site interesting http://murdomacleod.wordpress.com/ .









I draw your attention to the following:









1. Surveys repeatedly reveal that between 10-50% of employees experience bullying which prevents them from fulfilling their duties.



2. Bullying has nothing to do with managing; bullies are weak, inadequate people who use bullying to try and hide their inadequacy.



3. Bullying is, in most cases, the tip of an iceberg of wrongdoing, hence the employer's reluctance to take any action.



4. Employers are often more scared of the bully than the employees and the most common outcome is to get rid of the target and to promote the bully.



5. The absence of legislation on bullying at work leaves both employees and employers unprotected.









6. Bullying is the cause of underperformance, not the solution.



7. Stress is now the number one cause of sickness absence; bullying is a major cause of stress.



8. The cost of bullying to industry and taxpayers is estimated to at least £12 billion annually. The cost of conflict in the workplace (including harassment, discrimination, violence, legal action, injury to health, insurance, regulatory and legislative bodies, staff turnover etc) could be in excess of £20-30 billion annually. This is equivalent to a hidden tax burden of over £1000 per working adult per year.



9. Only about 2% of bullying cases make it to employment tribunal due to the inadequacy of UK law in respect of bullying and the absence of provision for compensation for detriment caused by bullying. Only about 0.5% of cases result in compensation for detriment in excess of the legal bill.



Thank you for your assistance



Yours sincerely













Vicky Gray



Do the GMB in Liverpool actually produce a report on exactly how the funds they receive are spent each year? Every other organisation has to produce financial reports why not the GMB? I could go on about the GMB but am not...people get the gist of the support I received or lack of support. If your a member in Liverpool...think about what value for money do you get? They have a converlersent home, I was never sent there. Paul McCarthy ignored my emails. He did write to me when my Union fees were overdue...(due to the fact I was no longer working) telling me how marvoulous the Union was.