Unison leader faces dismissal moves

Derek Gregory says he is the victim of a vendetta

Under-fire union leader Derek Gregory is likely to face formal moves for his dismissal, BBC Wales has learned.

It is understood that union activists, who want him to stand down following a court ruling over bullying claims, have secured enough support to force an emergency vote on the issue.

Mr Gregory, the Welsh leader of the public services union Unison, has previously rejected calls to step down.

Unison spearheads an anti-workplace bullying campaign

On Thursday, Unison members demanded that their leader be suspended or redeployed, following a court ruling that he bullied and harassed his former secretary, Joy Pugh.

Delegates representing more 60,000 Welsh members passed the motion at a meeting in Llandrindod Wells, Powys, mid-Wales.

Personal vendetta

The controversy began last month when a county court judge awarded Mrs Pugh, 48, £90,000 in damages for the bullying she endured during six years working for the union in Swansea.

Mrs Pugh claimed her self-confidence had been destroyed.

Since then Mr Gregory has faced a barrage of calls to stand down.

Mr Gregory himself maintains he has been made the target of a personal vendetta by some sections of Unison.

At Thursday's mid-Wales meeting, representatives of local government workers - who account for more than half the union's membership - are said to have unanimously passed the vote against Mr Gregory.

Joy Pugh said she was bullied for six years

They were not satisfied at the decision of Unison headquarters in London to allow Mr Gregory to remain in his post while an internal inquiry is held.

At an earlier internal inquiry, the regional secretary was found innocent of all charges.

Since then a full management investigation has been launched into the matter by Unison.

As well as the calls for Mr Gregory to go, a meeting of the union's Welsh committee in Conwy last week had to be called off after some delegates walked out in protest.

Attacks and depression

But Mr Gregory's own union, the Society of Union Employees, issued a statement at the start of this week claiming he had been denied "natural justice" in the court action.

The society said Mr Gregory had not been told anything about the Swansea court case and had not been asked to give evidence or defend himself.

At the hearing in Swansea County Court last month, Mrs Pugh said 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.