One of Jeremy Corbyn’s biggest trade union backers faces a mutiny over an ‘unjustifiable’ fat-cat pay rise for its top brass
Furious GMB members lodge SEVEN motions demanding protest vote as they claim inflation-busting 7.2% hike of £5,000 to regional secretaries 'makes a mockery' of pay rules
ONE OF Jeremy Corbyn’s biggest trade union backers faces a mutiny over an “unjustifiable” fat-cat pay rise for its top brass, The Sun can reveal.
Furious members in the GMB have lodged SEVEN motions demanding a protest vote at the union’s upcoming Annual Congress.
They claim an inflation-busting 7.2 per cent or £5,000 hike handed by general secretary Tim Roache to his regional secretaries “makes a mockery” of pay rules and the hardship suffered by millions of public sector workers.
The Sun revealed details of the pay rise in December. It takes regional secretaries’ salaries to £75,000 a year.
In a draft agenda for the GMB congress seen by the Sun members “deplore” the hike and slam it as “completely unjust”.
In one motion, the Beds County Branch storms: “It’s one rule for the elite and another for all our members. This is clearly a mistake and sends out the wrong message to all our membership.”
In another titled “Fat Cats within Our Ranks”, the Braintree and Bocking Branch storms: “It is very hard to promote our great Union when certain parties get a pay rise far and above 2 per cent and then expect lay members to be fine with the pay rise.
“When the Sun exposed the travesty, most people thought it was another Sun joke. However it was only a joke to members who will, and are going to pay for the pay rise through contributions.”
In a separate motion, the Havering Branch says: “This Conference deplores the recent £5,000 pay rise awarded to the all-male group of Regional Secretaries.
“The decision following the recent pay and grading review is completely unjust and makes a complete mockery of the GMB Equal Pay Audit.”
The Camden Branch storms: “This Conference notes Trade Union organisational representatives are not exempt from workplace job evaluations.
“This Conference agrees they should not be entitled to award themselves uplifts in salaries unscrutinised or without a job evaluation in accordance with ACAS guidance.”
The seven separate motions are likely to be rolled into one that goes before members at the Annual Congress in Brighton in June.
Insiders claim it’s an unprecedented show of anger against Mr Roache – one of Jeremy Corbyn’s biggest public backers within the trade union movement.
MOST READ IN POLITICS:
The GMB claims the Government has left vital public sector workers – such as nurses, midwives and binmen - £9,000 worse off since 2010.
Late last year the GMB demanded more action against “fat cat bosses” scamming workers by failing to pay the minimum wage.
At the time, Tim Roache stormed: “These companies rake in millions of pounds in profit yet seemingly think it’s ok to cheat workers who are already paid a pittance out of the wages they are legally entitled to. It absolutely stinks.”
The union was unavailable for comment this morning.