Husband of Unite chief in bullying row rocking key Labour donor
One of Britain’s largest trade unions is facing a damaging internal dispute after the team run by the husband of Unite’s General Secretary has been caught up in a row over bullying and intimidation, the i Paper can reveal.
Unite, which represents more than one million workers in sectors ranging from transport to manufacturing, now faces the prospect of some of its own workers walking out on strike next week. The confrontation comes as the union starts legal action against the Government over its decision to cut winter fuel payments.
The dispute revolves around a research unit in Unite which is run by Jack Clarke, the husband of Unite’s general secretary Sharon Graham. His team has been accused of bullying staff members, victimising those who speak out and fostering a culture of hostility to women.
A group of workers from Clarke’s unit have now voted to stage a four-day walkout from 2 to 6 December after they accused Unite of failing to properly investigate a series of complaints relating to pay and the use of rolling fixed-term contracts instead of offering employees permanent roles. The Unite staff are being represented by the trade union GMB.
Danny Adilypour, an organiser for the GMB said: “It is unacceptable that they [our members] have had to face bullying and victimisation from their own trade union employer and they are right to challenge this.
“They have been attempting to resolve their workplace concerns constructively with Unite since March, but have instead been rebuffed and victimised for raising legitimate industrial issues.”
He added: “Our members have quite simply had enough and they have now voted to take strike action.”
Unite described the claims made by GMB against Clarke’s department as “totally untrue” and said only five members had voted for strike action, meaning it was “not a viable ballot”.
The battle between Unite and GMB is embarrassing for the union movement and both are some of the biggest donors to Labour having given millions to the party over recent years and donated to many individual Labour MPs.
The latest row follows the revelation last month that the Serious Fraud Office is investigating Unite over the construction of a £112m hotel and conference centre in Birmingham.
Ms Graham was elected as general secretary in 2021 after the retirement of Len McCluskey, a close ally of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Shortly after taking the helm Graham launched a barrister-led inquiry into the controversial hotel deal vowing to clean up the organisation.
Unite sources allege the current dispute is being stirred up by inter-union rivalry. A claim denied by the GMB.
Unite say no formal grievance has been directly raised against Graham’s husband as part of the dispute, although union sources say he is referred to directly in the complaint as he is the director responsible for the research unit at the centre of the bullying claims.
According to one union source, the relationship between staff and management of the team, led by Mr Clarke quickly “deteriorated”, this Spring when the department unilaterally imposed a new grading system on the team. When some workers complained they claim punitive action was taken against some staff.
Shortly after the hostilities began, some staff were signed off with stress related to the dispute. Following the departure of two staff, a formal grievance was launched which led to the recent vote to strike.
The Unite research unit involved in the dispute was founded shortly after Ms Graham’s election as General Secretary and has been led by her husband since 2022. During her election campaign Graham had highlighted the need for research to be provided for workers involved in disputes around financial conditions.
Unite has strongly refuted all of the allegations raised against Clarke and his team and have played down the significance of the dispute.
A Unite spokesperson said: “The GMB then balloted eight people in a department [Mr Clarke’s research unit] of 24 and five of the eight have voted for action. This is clearly not a viable ballot.”
Profile: Unite
Unite has more than 1.2 million members, behind only Unison as the nation’s largest.
It represents workers in a wide variety of industries, including construction, hospitality, manufacturing, transport and local government.
Members typically pay £8.80 to £16.25 a month for membership
Unite donated £42m to Labour between 2010 and 2020 while the party was led by Jeremy Corbyn and Ed Miliband.
Unite provided no money for the party’s overall general election campaign. Instead, it has backed 88 MPs individually, including John McDonnell, Rebecca Long Bailey, Barry Gardiner and Dawn Butler.
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