Union chief says 'Gregory must go'

A leading member of the trade union movement in Wales has called on Derek Gregory to stand down as Unison's regional secretary.

Geraint Davies, of the NASUWT teaching union, and a member of the Wales TUC council, has added his weight to the pressure on Mr Gregory after a court ruling that he had bullied his secretary.

Mr Davies has entered the debate saying that Mr Gregory should resign for the sake of individual members, Unison and the trade union movement as a whole.

Derek Gregory should resign says Geraint Davies

Saying that unions existed to protect the rights of individuals at work, he delivered a blunt message for Mr Gregory.

"This episode has been unfortunate for the individuals involved, for Unison in general and for the TUC in Wales," he said.

"It should all come to an end, he should resign," he said.

The Unison meeting in Conwy was disrupted after the walkout.

Around 10 officials of the largest public services union in Wales left a routine meeting of the union's regional committee in Conwy on Wednesday, withdrawing support for their leader.

Three weeks ago, a court awarded £90,000 to Mr Gregory's former secretary Joy Pugh who said she suffered panic attacks and depression as a result of daily harassment and bullying over a six-year period.

Unison spokesman Bill King

Although Mr Gregory was cleared of any wrongdoing by union bosses in an internal inquiry last week, there have been continued calls for him to resign, threatening a union split.

After the walkout, Unison spokesman Bill King spoke about the disrupted meeting.

"The people that have gone today will have had very clear indications from their members and their own branches that people were not happy and wish to take a certain course of action," said Mr King.

A total of 31 officials attended the meeting at Conwy's Bolondeb Hall when 10 walked out rendering it inquorate - constitutionally invalid - and unable to continue.

Some members - angered by the case and the poor publicity for a union that campaigns against workplace bullying - have been threatening to withdraw cooperation for some days.

Derek Gregory: Urged to quit

And those in the 'anti-Gregory camp' have vowed to bring the union's organisation in Wales to a halt by repeating the tactic whenever necessary - effectively making Mr Gregory's position untenable.

Mr Gregory, on the other hand, claims he is the target of a personal vendetta by some of the union's officials who, he said, do not represent the views of most of the union's 104,000 members.

Last week, Unison headquarters in London announced a full management investigation, headed by two senior officials and aided by an external independent adviser.

Full investigation

A spokesman said the inquiry would look closely at events leading up to the damages award and "into any wider problems of management within the region which need to be addressed".

Joy Pugh, 48, who worked at the union's Swansea office for six years, said her self-confidence had been destroyed and she had decided to change careers to become a self-employed aromatherapist.

She told Swansea County Court that she had suffered panic attacks, depression, sleepless nights and loss of libido as a result of her treatment at work.

She claimed that Mr Gregory was persistently rude and shouted at her and also threw files around the office and exaggerated faults in her work.