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GMB union secretary faces fresh legal battle; In the first major
Sunday Herald, The, Mar 9, 2003 by Stephen Naysmith
ROBERT Thomson, former regional secretary of the GMB Scotland, plans to sue his successor, Robert Parker, who resigned in disgrace last week after the union settled a bullying case against him for (pounds) 50,000.
Thomson is furious at Parker's repeated claims that his predecessor conspired with other union activists to undermine him.
The GMB last week said it regretted the circumstances of the Mary Senior case and would introduce new policies on bullying by senior officials.
Senior, the union's former media and equality officer, had claimed Parker victimised her because she was supporting a separate tribunal case brought by his former personal assistant, Margaret McAvoy.
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During the Senior case, Parker alleged that Thomson, McAvoy's father-in-law, had been involved with other former union members in a conspiracy to undermine him, which had involved leaking confidential documents to the press and lobbying for an inquiry into his activities.
Parker repeated his claims this weekend, as he absorbed the impact of the union's decision that it could no longer fight the Senior case and awaited the outcome of deliberations in relation to McAvoy's case against him. The GMB is expected to settle that case within a week, in an attempt to draw a line under the affair.
However, Margaret Thomson, who resigned her union membership over her daughter-in-law's treatment, and gave evidence against Parker, said his claims of a conspiracy were fantasy and libellous.
"Nobody plotted against him. We certainly were not happy about what happened to our daughter-in-law, but we consider these allegations defamatory. We've taken legal advice and intend to pursue it."
The GMB accepted Parker's resignation and agreed to pay him a year's salary "on compassionate grounds", as he is married with young children. Thomson said McAvoy now wanted the GMB to end her ordeal. "Margaret is delighted for Mary Senior, who stood up bravely for her principles. But where is the compassion for Margaret? She is the initial victim and has two young children. She's never had as much as a phone call from the GMB."
Privately, leading figures in the union acknowledge that they cannot continue to fight McAvoy's claim. One lawyer connected with the cases said: "The GMB have settled the less serious of the two, but it would be absolute madness to continue to fight Margaret McAvoy now Parker has resigned. Effectively they have to settle."
"Margaret McAvoy has suffered very long-term, serious psychological problems. But she is now in the strongest hold-out position I've ever seen. She's going to get a wonderful settlement."
The GMB seemed destined to lose both tribunals, after allegations during Senior's hearings that Parker had attempted to interfere with witnesses. Fraser Adam, a union organiser in Aberdeen, testified that Parker had suggested he was having an affair, in a bid to persuade him out of giving evidence for Senior.
The GMB has confirmed it is now reviewing its position in the McAvoy case. Parker's former PA claims he fondled her breasts, forced her to touch his private parts and pestered her for sex.
A GMB spokesman said: "We are obviously going to have to discuss our position with the lawyers. We should know what the implications are within a week."
Any settlement in McAvoy's case is likely to dwarf that awarded to Senior, in recognition of the more serious nature of the allegations and impact on her life. She resigned after a nervous breakdown and suffers depression, anxiety and severe psychiatric problems.
But Parker remained defiant yesterday, insisting he was the innocent victim of a seven-year plot to undermine him.
In an extraordinary interview with the Sunday Herald, he refused to accept he had been in the wrong and said: "I'm leaving with my dignity intact. I haven't been found guilty of anything."
He said the plot to oust him had been carried out by former employees and expelled former union members. "This was about destroying Robert Parker, destroying Robert Parker's family and destroying Robert Parker's career," he said.
He expressed no concern for those whose lives and careers he is accused of blighting. Instead, he said he and his wife had suffered and even suggested that GMB general secretary John Edmonds had decided to settle the case on their account. Parker said: "He may have decided to settle because of the stress my family were under; he is very sympathetic. He is aware of the impact the tribunals have had on my health."
He added that he felt "pity" for his accusers. "I feel sorry for them - rather than devoting their energies to trying to bring about my demise, they could have directed them elsewhere."
The GMB has undertaken to introduce new policies on bullying and harassment at work in the wake of the Senior case. However, Parker called for more training and support for people in his position. As the youngest ever regional secretary of the GMB, he had made mistakes, he conceded.
