Roger Poole obituary

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/jul/15/roger-poole

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Roger Poole, who has died aged 68 of colon cancer, became the acceptable face of trade unionism at the end of the bitterly divided 1980s, as the spokesman for ambulance staff in their largely successful six months of industrial action. He went on to build a reputation as one of the most constructive negotiators of his generation.

Poole’s homespun style, aided by his West Country burr, could not disguise a fierce commitment to low-paid workers, while his patient capacity to build trust and find a way through complex negotiations later led to his appointment as chairman of the Northern Ireland Parades Commission (2005-09). Subsequently his constructive, often humorous, presence was in demand as a patient behind-the-scenes fixer helping to resolveindustrial relations conundrums.

Born in Bristol, he was the son of Samuel Poole, a decorator and trade unionist, and his wife Lillian (nee James). Roger was educated at one of the early comprehensives, Ashton Gate, where he led his first protest; he was also a lifelong supporter of Bristol Rovers. With the school committed to playing rugby, he headed a successful delegation to demand a soccer pitch. But he left at 15 without any qualifications.

After working in a laboratory and as a motor mechanic, he became a security officer on Avonmouth dock. In 1970 he and his wife Bernice (nee Peglar) spent their honeymoon with friends driving a doubledecker bus, with a CBI grant to promote British goods, across the US and into South America, until it sank in a Peruvian river.

Back in Britain, Poole became an official of the National Union of Public Employees, which organised lower-paid, largely manual workers, particularly in the health service and local authorities, eventually becoming an assistant general secretary. The union was at the centre of the 1978-79 “winter of discontent”, which alienated many voters and assisted the election of Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government.

But Poole showed how well he had absorbed the lessons of the 1970s and 80s as spokesman and chief negotiator for the group of five unions that mounted industrial action in 1989. The claim by ambulance staff included a £20 per week increase and a pay formula linked to inflation. It also sought money to develop the new role of paramedic.

The dispute became bitter as it escalated from overtime ban to emergency-cover-only arrangements, to lockouts and occupations of some stations, with the government bringing in army ambulances. The unions trod a fine line between public support and disapprobation. But Poole’s reasonable manner in his regular broadcasting appearances and the tight unity of the inter-union negotiating team contrasted with the divided voices from government and health service employers. In the end the unions achieved a 16.9% increase and the funding that allowed staff to train as paramedics. Although some criticised the failure to achieve a binding pay formula, Poole hailed the settlement as “driving a coach and horses through the government’s pay policy”. Poole’s public reasonableness – he was runner-up as the Today programme’s “man of the year” – had much to do with it.

His own philosophy was: “I believe in the collective approach to solving problems. The problem with the unions is that their public face has belied their private face. The private face is people out there spending hours so that some poor soul who has had an accident at work gets compensation. The public face is the big set-piece confrontations, and the unions put this across very badly.

“Scargill and Thatcher were opposite sides of the same coin. They were both saying, ‘It’s either me or you.’ I don’t think you can operate like that.”

In 1993 Poole helped to negotiate the merger of his union with the larger Nalgo, representing local authority white-collar staff, and the health union, Cohse, to form Unison. He became an assistant general secretary.

His retirement was followed by the Parades Commission appointment in Northern Ireland, where his capacity to build trust and understand what might be acceptable to different groups was put to the test. He failed to get co-operation from the Orange Order, but his period in office was marked by strikingly more peaceful marching seasons. He had characteristic success in encouraging local groups to make arrangements between themselves. He claimed that he had enjoyed his time immeasurably.

His abilities remained in demand, with a string of industrial troubleshooting appointments. He spent patient months working on the highly charged reorganisation of working practices at Royal Mail. He was called on to adjudicate over Remploy’s plans to close factories employing disabled people and the train drivers’ union Aslef’s embarrassment when it suspended its leaders after a brawl at a union barbecue. He was a visiting lecturer at Warwick University.

Poole is survived by Bernice, his son, Jason, daughter, Jessica, and three granddaughters, Lexus, Megan and Bethany.

• Roger Poole, trade unionist, born 11 July 1946; died 3 July 2015