[A-List] UK state: trade union aristocracy

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

Union chiefs offered six-figure golden handshakes
By Barrie Clement and Andrew Grice
The Independent, 31 October 2002

Sir Ken Jackson and a senior aide at the centre of ballot rigging
allegations are expected to receive more than £300,000 each as part of
golden handshakes from their union.

Sir Ken, once the Prime Minister's favourite trade unionist, will receive a
cash payment of nearly £100,000 plus the profit from the sale of his
union-owned house, which could be at least £200,000. The 65-year-old leader
of Amicus-AEEU will also enjoy a pension worth two thirds of his £78,000
salary. The executive of the union, which is dominated by his supporters,
has also backed a £320,000 severance package for Charlie McKenzie, who
organised Sir Ken's unsuccessful campaign to remain as general secretary of
the union.

Mr McKenzie, 60, who like Sir Ken was alleged to have been present when the
ballot rigging was planned, will receive a lump sum of £70,000 and his
£50,000 salary each year until he retires at 65. He will then receive a
pension of two thirds of his wages.

The allegations of ballot rigging have been made by Roger Maskell, a former
senior union official, who left the organisation after admitting his role in
"double voting" in a nominating process that preceded the ballot for the top
post in the union. Mr Maskell is taking the union to an employment tribunal,
alleging he was unfairly dismissed. Sir Ken and Mr McKenzie deny any
involvement in electoral irregularities.

A union official said that under a seven-year-old agreement Sir Ken
qualified for a much larger cash payment. His contract states that he is
entitled to a lump sum of three times his salary plus the list price of his
union Jaguar car. This would come to a total of about £250,000, which he
would have received in addition to his pension and the profit from the
house.

Instead he has asked for one week's salary per year of service plus three
months' wages, giving him a payment of £75,000. He also opted for the list
price of his previous, more modest car, valued at £20,000.

Another senior source said Sir Ken was trying to negotiate a lower pay-off
because of "embarrassment" at the scale of the money involved. The official
described Mr McKenzie's terms as "a disgrace".

Sir Ken is due to retire next month when his victorious left-wing opponent,
Derek Simpson, will take over.

Mr McKenzie said his package was not unusual. "I've been an officer of the
union for 25 years and this package was agreed with me back in 1996. I could
have left every year since that time, but I've stayed on. I'm getting
nothing special." But one member of Sir Ken's faction said the revelations
would cost the group a victory in next year's executive elections.

The massive "hamper" payments were negotiated in 1995 when the electricians'
and engineers' unions merged and there was a need to reduce the numbers on
the executive.

The organisation formed out of the merger, the Amalgamated Engineering and
Electrical Union, has since joined the Manufacturing Science Finance union
to form Amicus.