Derek Simpson (trade unionist)
Derek Simpson | |
---|---|
Joint-General Secretary of Unite the Union | |
In office 1 July 2007 – 31 December 2010 Serving with Tony Woodley | |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Len McCluskey |
General Secretary of Amicus | |
In office 1 May 2004 – 30 June 2007 | |
Preceded by | Roger Lyons |
Succeeded by | Position abolished |
Personal details | |
Born | Sheffield, England | 23 December 1944
Political party | Labour |
Alma mater | Open University |
Derek Simpson (born 23 December 1944) is a British
Early life
Derek Simpson was born and educated in
In 1987 he received an Open University BSc in computing and mathematics.[1][2] He was appointed an honorary fellow of Sheffield Hallam University in 1999.[1]
Career
From 1960 to 1966 he worked for Firth Brown Tools, then Balfour Darwin from 1966 to 1981, then working full-time as a union official.[citation needed]
AEU
He joined the Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU) on becoming an apprentice at the age of 15. He became an AEU
General Secretary of Amicus
Simpson was the surprise winner of the June 2002 election for the position of Joint General Secretary of the AEEU Section of Amicus. He beat Tony Blair's 'favourite trade unionist' – Sir Ken Jackson. He assumed the position of General Secretary in May 2004 following the departure of the MSF Section's JGS, Roger Lyons.[citation needed]
In the above election, Simpson was seen as the left candidate, and was backed by the
Simpson has repeatedly denied press claims
Since becoming General Secretary, he has been supportive of the links between Amicus and the
Joint General Secretary of Unite
On 9 October 2008, the Executive Council of Unite decided that there would be an election for the General Secretary (Amicus section), with a timetable of January/February 2009 for the election, the results to be announced in March 2009. This election was for a fixed term until December 2010. The Executive council also postponed the merger of the union and adoption of the new rule book until May 2009.[citation needed]
In May 2010, during confidential negotiations with British Airways under the chairmanship of conciliation service Acas to resolve an ongoing dispute, Simpson was found to be using his BlackBerry to update his Twitter account with progress of the confidential negotiations.[3]
Personal life
Simpson met his first wife Freda when working at a
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Derek Simpson: A left-wing 'Walter Mitty' prepares for centre stage after beating all the odds". The Independent. London. 23 June 2003. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012.
- ^ a b c "Not awkward, he just wants his questions answered". The Guardian. London. 8 September 2003. Archived from the original on 13 June 2006.
- ^ "Unite union says BA strike to go ahead". BBC News. 22 May 2010. Archived from the original on 7 November 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
- ^ "BLAIR MUST GO.. BEFORE HE GIVES BRITAIN A MIGRAINE". The Mirror. 10 September 2005. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011.