Officers in Unison’s NHS Glasgow Clyde and CVS branch arranged the trip to Durham Miners’ Gala this summer but dipped into funds without approval.
Unison NHS Glasgow branch at Durham Miners’ Gala in July
Bosses at a trade union took part in an unauthorised £6000 jolly to Durham Miners’ Gala with their partners – using members’ cash.
Two officers in Unison’s NHS Glasgow Clyde and CVS branch arranged the trip in July but didn’t get it formally signed off and instead the branch’s funds were dipped into without approval.
They initially spent more than £7500 to send 16 people to the annual labour festival in Durham, with two nights in a hotel and more than £100 each in personal expenses.
Senior Unison figures including Scottish secretary Lillian Macer and Scotland organiser Wilma Brown and their spouses were among those who went.
It prompted a row between members of the branch, which represents thousands of health workers in Greater Glasgow and is believed to be the largest trade union branch in Britain.
Unison Scottish secretary Lilian Macer(Image: Wishaw Press)
In complaints to the union’s HQ in London seen by us, whistleblowers called for disciplinary action over a “scandalous misuse” of branch members’ money.
They said the trip was arranged without the knowledge of the elected branch secretary and without bringing it to monthly committee meetings where spending is normally decided.
They wrote: “Our branch is at least the biggest health branch of Unison in the whole of Britain and as far as I know the biggest Unison branch of any kind.
“We have about 18,000 members, which we have fought hard to build. If members find out that over £6000 of their subs has been squandered on a freebie for 16 people, including two officials, they will not only be furious but we will face thousands leaving.”
A Unison probe last month found the spending had been “unauthorised” and had created “disunity” in the branch , with a raft of recommendations to improve governance.
However, it denied it amounted to fraud or misuse of funds and stopped short of hitting the organisers with disciplinary action.
Unison’s UK general secretary, Scottish trade unionist Christina McAnea, is currently running for re-election up against Andrea Egan. McAnea is widely considered an ally of Keir Starmer’s Labour government while Egan has pitched herself as a socialist alternative.
UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea(Image: PA)
Unison’s report into the complaints said the trip’s net spend for the branch was reduced from around £7800 to about £6200 after money was recovered from the union’s wider Scotland region and claimed this had been “agreed in advance”.
A source told the Sunday Mail this cash was only clawed back after a backlash from members and Unison of “trying to brush the complaints under the carpet”.
They said: “One reason we feel they don’t want to do anything is because the general secretary is up for election this year and Christina McAnea is a friend of the branch.”
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A second source said scores of reps linked to the branch weren’t invited on the trip and first found out about it through posts from Durham on social media.
They added: “We have members who have been off sick, they have no money, they can’t even feed themselves. They are paying into this branch. Yet these officers can go away for a weekend jolly, this money can be spent and there’s no consequences for it.”
Unison said: “The Durham Miners’ Gala is an important event in the union calendar, to which Unison sends a delegation each year. The union’s branches make their own decisions about how to spend their budgets.
“This complaint was dealt with through the union’s robust investigations procedure, and no evidence of deception, fraud or personal gain was found.”