The regulator found that that the Northumberland Provident and Benevolent fund had lent Mr Lavery £72,500 to buy a house in 1994. 13 years on, the union Mr Lavery was then running forgave the loan to Mr Lavery. So he was £72,500 the richer. But there's more. He'd been paying into an endowment fund to pay back the capital cost of the house. It had underperformed, but it still paid out £18,000. The regulator found Mr Lavery kept that too. And that's not all. The regulator found that in 2005, Mr Lavery sold a 15% stake in his house to the Union for £36,000. In 2013 the house was worth less, so he bought it back from the union for £27,500 - a notional profit of £8,500. And then there's Mr Lavery's "termination payments", totalling £89,887.83. However, that total is a matter of some dispute between him and the union. The regulator says that neither Mr Lavery nor the union could provide documentary evidence of the process or the decision by which Mr Lavery was made redundant - or why, given he was leaving for a job as an MP, he needed any redundancy payments at all. Adding £89,887 he received for his undocumented redundancy package to the £72,500 for the forgiven house loan to the £18,000 he was gifted from his endowment, that totals £180,387. But, then, it seems Mr Lavery and his old union fell out. The union recently realised it had overpaid Mr Lavery's redundancy by £30,600. The regulator's report shows that the union asked for it back. Mr Lavery disputed £10,600 of it - and said he'd only give them £15,000. When the regulator asked the union why they settled for this, they simply replied that they were mindful of Mr Lavery disputing it and the potential legal costs: "Mr. Lavery was adamant that £15,000 was his final offer, we were left with little choice but to accept." So our running total of dosh from the union to its one-time general secretary is reduced by £15,000 to £165,387. That's a bob or two in anyone's language. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41688280
Yes, Unions are great. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries they contributed massively to improving the lives of ordinary working people, which is why Maggie Thatcher declared war on them, leading us to the present era of zero hours contracts, bogus self employment, insecure low paid jobs and **** wages.
How dare this union chap act like an elected MP. Where will it all end if every Tom, Dick or Harry is allowed to fraudulently rip off people without being democratically elected first? Anarchy that's where. Hang the bastard.
I like a Union too. Their progress in getting us out of the dark ages regarding health and safety at work is often overlooked. Sad to say I have known more than my fair share of utter w.ankers in unions, wide boys with big gold sovereign rings, Communists and a whole bunch of useless lazy c.unts trying to hide behind their union when it looks like they actually have to do a days work. I've had to implement changes as a manager and the first reaction is "We'll see about that, I'm telling my Union!" to which I always reply that it isn't a problem, I like to involve the Reps and try and engage where possible.
6ft of rugged heterosexual , Presbyterian manhood here ya Edinburgh bumbasher. Plus trained to kill in five different languages. You wouldn't last three seconds fairy feet.
I've never been a member of a union. In the words of Groucho Marx (I'm paraphrasing), "I wouldn't join any group that would accept me as a member"
