UCATT Honour Former General Secretary

Construction union UCATT will today (Wednesday 27^th May) honour their former General Secretary George Brumwell, by unveiling a portrait of him at the union’s headquarters in Clapham South London.

Mr Brumwell was General Secretary of UCATT from his election in 1991 until his retirement in October 2004. Mr Brumwell sadly died in 2005, a year after he retired as General Secretary.

The portrait was painted by Mick Jones the son of former T&G General Secretary Jack Jones. Rodney Bickerstaffe, the former General Secretary of UNISON and a long time friend of Mr Brumwell will unveil the portrait. Mr Brumwell and Mr Bickerstaffe both cut their teeth in the trade union movement in South Yorkshire.

During Mr Brumwell’s tenure as General Secretary he had to steer UCATT through very severe financial troubles. By the end of his tenure the union had returned to financial health.

Alan Ritchie, the current General Secretary of UCATT, said: “All UCATT members owe a debt of gratitude to George’s leadership. It was the sacrifices that he and others made which have allowed the union to grow and become an effective campaigning force.”

Mr Brumwell was a passionate campaigner for safe sites and was determined to reduce construction deaths. In 2001 he forced the then Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott to hold a summit on construction safety.

He also began the union’s campaign for the introduction of statutory directors duties, believing that until construction bosses were held directly responsible and could be imprisoned if a worker died, construction safety would not improve significantly.

To further promote safety Mr Brumwell was a founding member of the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) and threw his support behind the campaign for a fully-carded workforce. He recognised that untrained workers were at particular risk of being injured or killed on construction sites.

Mr Brumwell also served as a Health and Safety Commissioner and was an early supporter of Constructing Better Health as he realised that occupational health was a huge factor in the quality of life of construction workers.

Mr Ritchie, added: “George was passionate about stopping deaths on site. He believed that all deaths were preventable. The safety of workers is at the forefront of all UCATT campaigns.”

In recent years an average of six construction workers have been killed every month.

For Further information contact Barckley Sumner on 0780 2329235

Photographs of the portrait unveiling will be available from Andrew Waird on 07973 219201.