#DefendPaulHolmes: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The good news is that Paul Holmes and Cath Kinder are both standing for election at the Kirklees UNISON AGM. Nick Ruff has been automatically elected as branch chair, unopposed. Kirklees UNISON members have the chance to take back their branch after it has been under suspension for over two years.

The bad news breaking yesterday is that the hearing outcome meeting for Paul’s disciplinary has been postponed for the second time. A new date has been set for Wednesday 2nd February. No details of the venue have been announced.

The ugly is the treatment of Paul Holmes who has been active in the union for 48 years and is UNISON President for 1.3 million members. He has been suspended by Kirklees Council for over 2 years and 2 months. By the time of the hearing on 2nd February, Paul will have been suspended for 2 years and 3 months. Paul’s disciplinary hearing took place over a three-month period and ended on 1st December 2021. By the 2nd February 2022, he will have been made to wait three months for the outcome of his disciplinary.

This treatment of a trade union rep borders on mental and emotional abuse. It is clearly a political act to take out a longstanding UNISON and Labour Party activist.

It is about time that our UNISON General Secretary Christine McAnea pulled her finger out and publicly backed our UNISON President, Paul Holmes. Her lack of action on this matter is sending the wrong message to all employers. Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham has publicly stated that she backs her reps. All UNISON reps, including Paul, expect the same from our General Secretary.

Keep a look out for more details about the new lobby scheduled for 2nd February in support of Paul Holmes on our social media sites.