Junk mail

Many members of the Amicus section of Unite may come to the conclusion that Derek Simpson's bid for re-election as General Secretary isn't going too well after receiving a personally addressed letter from Derek regarding work he claims to have undertaken for their industrial Sector. A customised version has been written for each major sector of the union and is being sent by the union to every Amicus Section member.

The campaign team for Simpson's main rival, Kevin Coyne, has responded saying:

"The purpose of the letter is clear – it is blatant use of union resources to support Derek Simpson’s campaign and it is timed to arrive the week before ballot papers land on members’ doormats. Kevin will be launching a complaint to the Returning Officer, John Gibbins; the Electoral Commissioner, Professor William Brown; and to the Certification Officer on the grounds that the letter breaches the union’s own Rules.

In the meantime we have been inundated with calls and emails from angry reps and members wanting to know how Derek can spend union money in this way.

It is an act of desperation to so publicly and obviously flout the union’s rule book in this way. There must be real panic in Derek’s camp for them to resort to this tactic. The key issue now is turning the vote out for Kevin so that he can stop this sort of abuse of power and build a clean union."