Unite officers confront union over ‘appalling’ vilification of ‘ghost job’ whistleblower

One of Britain’s biggest unions has been challenged by its own officers over its handling of investigations into claims of misconduct.

The claims include an allegation that a “ghost” job may have been created to influence the outcome of an internal election and an alleged head-butting incident involving one of its representatives.

The branch representing Unite officers, who provide support for members, wrote to union general secretary Sharon Graham on 13 October, stating it had raised a “collective grievance” over the handling of investigations and disciplinary procedures.

The letter said the officers’ national committee was “appalled” that the union had decided to attack a whistleblower who had made a complaint about an alleged “ghost” job offered to a baggage handler at Heathrow. The union has stated that the whistleblower was subject to an investigation and suggested he had “an axe to grind”.

The Observer revealed in September how an election candidate for the union executive council withdrew after being offered a £50,000-a-year full-time job with the union, on top of his job as a Heathrow baggage handler. The whistleblower called for an investigation into concerns that he may have been offered the post as an incentive to withdraw.

Unite says it is investigating the complaint, but says it is categorically false that the baggage handler was offered a job to stand down from the election. The union says he was given a job mapping Heathrow for the union and he was removed from the payroll when the project ended. Sources close to the baggage handler insist he did work on the project.

The “collective grievance” from the Unite officers in relation to the whistleblower complaint states: “The national committee [of officers] is appalled that in response to a protected disclosure by a Unite officer, [the union] has chosen to publicly attack the whistleblower.” Unite says all information it provided was “strictly relevant” to inquiries made by The Observer.

It is also reported that officers are considering whether an investigation into an alleged head-butting incident in a car park at a Unite regional office in Liverpool in January was mishandled because of a claimed failure to suspend the individual involved until all inquiries were completed. Police are investigating the alleged assault.

The union also faces questions over a regional representative in Scotland who was arrested in August over an alleged sexual offence. It is claimed officers raised concerns about the individual in 2023, before he was appointed, but Unite’s leadership team says it was never informed.

The complaint is the latest row inside the union after its recent turbulent history. Graham has vowed to clean up the union after the controversies during the leadership of her predecessor, Len McCluskey, but has complained of a smear campaign against her.

Unite said a letter had been received by the general secretary and she had suggested a meeting to discuss the issues raised in the collective grievance. Unite said it was conducting its investigation into matters raised by a whistleblower “impartially and in good faith”.

The union said the representative in Liverpool was suspended during an initial investigation, but the suspension was lifted after insufficient evidence was found to take disciplinary action. The representative has now stepped down, pending the determination of the police investigation.

Unite said no concerns involving the representative in Scotland were raised with the leadership team or formally with the union’s executive council before his appointment. He was suspended within 48 hours of the union being notified of alleged wrongdoing and the union had acted quickly “to protect those involved”.

A Unite spokesperson said Graham was facing criticism because of her determination to uncover historical alleged wrongdoing at the union: “Bully boy tactics will not work. The clean up of the union in relation to historical financial wrongdoing, blacklisting and ballot rigging will continue under her watch.”

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