mailing from Hackney TUC



Hackney Unison's Equality Officer, John Page, has been sacked for challenging institutional racism within Hackney Council.



Following a suspension lasting almost 8 months Hackney Council has dismissed one of the 'Hackney two' John Page. The second, Brian Debus, Branch Secretary, is still waiting to hear when his hearing will be called.



The charge against John Page was:



You have widely circulated a report making serious and unproven allegations to persons outside the Race Scrutiny Group. The report abuses and undermines officers, Members and the Chair of the Race Scrutiny Group, Lincoln Crawford.



In the hearing John confirmed that draft report went to members of the Unison branch committee and members of the Unison Black Workers Group for consultation and agreement before it was due to be finalised and sent to the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE). It was this process that the council objected to and the reason why John has been sacked.

The presenting officer and the hearing officer did not believe in the process of union democracy. In their view, a report such as this should have been written by a small committee. They saw no reason why a Unison branch officer should seek endorsement from other members of the branch, even those who were involved in preparing and writing it!

The officer presenting the case against John maintained however that the truth or falsity of the allegations in your report did not make a difference to the allegation against John: 'truth or validity of the allegations was not the issue'! Loosely translated this appears to mean the council is not prepared to acknowledge, consider or investigate allegations of racism.

We think that the allegations of institutional racism in Hackney council need to investigated and challenged and we will continue to highlight cases as they arise. Hackney Council has several race and sex discrimination cases currently lodged at the employment tribunal. How much does the council pay out in terms of large sums of money to stop many of these cases from being heard?

We will continue to press the CRE to take action to eliminate racism from within the council and to this end Hackney TUC have called a

Campaign meeting at the Marcon Community Hall (corner of Amhurst Road and Marcon Place, London E8) at 7.30pm, next Wednesday 30 July.

Hope to see you there.

Letter from John Page sent to council workers today:



Dear Colleagues



This is just a note to inform you that the decision has been made to dismiss me. I have yet to see the written reasons.



I had always assumed that this would be the outcome and have protected my interest by seeking alternative employment. I am very fortunate to have an offer of work and therefore from a personal point of view I have succeeded to some extent in 'mitigating' my loss. I have been victimised, but I have refused to become a 'victim'.



The only reason I have been dismissed is because I consistently acted in a way that a self-respecting trade union representative should. As branch secretary I resisted cuts in terms and conditions of employment, and as equalities officer I sought to challenge unlawful discrimination, particularly race discrimination.



The basis for my dismissal is that I circulated a draft document that detailed institutional racism and breaches of the CRE's non-discrimination notice, which was served on the council in 2000 as a result of an earlier Unison report.



The council has never sought to dispute the truth of the allegations in that report and has refused to investigate them, but it has decided that making the allegations 'abuses and undermines managers'. In fact they stated in the hearing that they were not interested in the truth of the allegations and I was not allowed to introduce evidence to prove that they were true.



I am very proud to have been involved in the attempt to challenge racism in Hackney and had I not been dismissed, I would have pursued the demand for action by the CRE to see criminal sanctions imposed on those who continue to persistently breach the Race Relations Act. The CRE have now indicated that they will 'audit' the council's compliance with the statutory notice. It is important that as part of that audit they interview and accept evidence from the trade union and individual black workers.



No doubt some powerful people (the dark forces) will hope that my dismissal will see the end of the campaign to challenge institutional racism, but this will not be the case. As a resident of this borough, I will continue to campaign for justice. The existing Unison branch officers have worked together as a team for three years and have my complete confidence. They share my passion and commitment to justice and I have no doubt that they will do all they can to pursue this campaign.



I am also confident that individual Unison members will respond to this latest attack on their union by increasing their participation. We need an active shop steward in every workplace. I hope that where apathy has existed in the past, legitimate anger will motivate individuals to come forward and play a more active role. The union is what we make it.



I personally have no regrets as to the efforts I have made to challenge unlawful and unfair employment practices. I am very proud to have been the branch secretary, and subsequently the equalities officer. I am however bitterly disappointed that in Hackney as so often before, the powerful have been allowed to blatantly abuse their positions.



Inevitably, there will be an employment tribunal case, and I hope that during the hearing the very questions that my dismissal was designed to silence will have to be answered by those at the very top of the organisation.



I would like to thank everyone who has supported the branch and myself over the last five years. I am also indebted to everyone who trusted me to act as their representative, which I have always viewed as an honor.



From a personal point of view, I could not have acted differently. I believe deeply that 'the truth will out' and that 'justice will prevail', but only because oppression breeds resistance.



I understand the union is calling a lobby on the town hall steps at 5pm today.



Hackney TUC have called a Campaign meeting at the Marcon Community Hall (corner of Amhurst Road and Marcon Place, London E8) at 7.30pm, next Wednesday 30 July.



I will be arranging a 'leaving do' because I would like to celebrate all that we have achieved in the most difficult of circumstances. Perhaps our greatest achievement is to have retained our dignity and integrity while subjected to threats, bullying and victimisation.



Thank you for your support.



John Page



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Jane Holgate

Acting Secretary, Hackney Trades Union Council

Box 11, 136 Kingsland High Street, London E8 2NS.

07960 798399