We care for the vulnerable in society." ", Nicknamed Mr Mainstream when he stepped up to lead Unison eight years ago, Prentis was one of the new breed of union leaders prepared to adapt to life under Tony Blair. He joined NALGO in 1975, and in 1990 he became its deputy general secretary. Prentis is not by any measure badly paid. In the 2020 Labour leadership and deputy leadership elections, UNISON endorsed Keir Starmer for leader and Angela Rayner for deputy. Now we are saying, very strongly, that the privatisation agenda is wrong. She pointed out that the figure was agreed by the union’s national executive committee and that he was “worth every penny”. There was another, more personal reason for Blair's solicitude towards the occasionally awkward public sector union leader – relief that he was alive. Dave Prentis General Secretary of UNISON Pregnant Kate Middleton Compared To 'Young Women Who Have Babies To Get State Handouts' 'Underpaid' MPs Call For 32% Payrise Union barons are supposed to be arrogant, opinionated, politically motivated and greedy. ", Strikes are not his main threat. In 2007, Unison balloted its members for a nationwide strike over pay, but the majority in favour was too narrow and the action did not go ahead. It is not that Unison has been quiescent under Prentis's long stewardship. Prentis is a Yorkshireman, but he is no Arthur Scargill. "It may be frosty when I get back from here. ", He rose through the ranks at Nalgo, during the Thatcher conflict and the wilderness years that followed, before playing a leading part in the creation of Unison in 1993. Prentis is not by any measure badly paid. COVID-19 ... General secretary Dave Prentis said: " Reports of pay restraint for all but frontline NHS staff would be a … Soaring inflation is already rendering it obsolete, says Prentis, and if it continues he will fight for a new deal. Friday 20 November 2020 12:48, UK. But when food is going up in the way it is, plus electricity, gas, petrol all going up 30 or 40 per cent, these are the basics of life. The TUC Public Service Liaison Committee is meeting today to discuss potential industrial action over public sector pensions. After chemotherapy, he had his food pipe and part of his stomach cut out – and as if that were not enough, he contracted MRSA while he was in hospital. Want an ad-free experience?Subscribe to Independent Premium. It’s immoral and it’s got to change.”, {{#verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}}. "Yes." A trade union official told him to "get the hell out of here and go to university". According to Unison's most recent annual accounts, his total salary and benefits in 2010 came to just over £101,000, plus £32,818 paid into his pension pot. "I'm not threatening a summer of discontent," he insists. Posted on 16 November 2020 16 November 2020 by Dave Prentis Blog: Time to celebrate and look after our young members This young workers month, let’s listen and support one of the fastest growing groups of our membership and ensure they don’t pay the price of the pandemic People earning just above the minimum wage? What would he have done otherwise? Is it the cry of a moderate dismayed at being forced to fight? But that is not how Prentis is seen by those who have actually dealt with him, either in government, or in the Labour Party, or even by others in the trade union movement. The delegates went wild. "I'm saying the feeling out there is one of pure anger. That has not happened, and hundreds of thousands of low-paid, predominantly female members of Unison will sacrifice a day's pay and risk alienating public support next week. He says: "Class still divides. And here comes a bolshy trade union leader, warning the Prime Minister that his members are angry and ready to deliver a fatal blow. "This isn't a proper job. Tomorrow, Prentis will find out whether 600,000 local government workers are willing to strike for a better deal than the 2.4 per cent rise on offer. "Dave's a negotiator. "If there is still so much anger and worry among public service workers when an election comes, they will show their discontent at the ballot box. "Probably worked at Burtons, in a tailoring factory. What pleases ministers but exasperates the left about Prentis is that if he has an ideological worldview, he keeps it hidden behind the self-effacing exterior of a professional negotiator. Last modified on Sat 18 Jul 2020 15.17 EDT. ", They say: "Dave was somebody of substance. The reason this quiet man has so little visibility is that he does not conform to the idea of what a big union boss should be. Most of his friends are trade unionists, he says. A decade of spending cuts left public services exposed when Covid came calling. Dave – not David – Prentis definitely sees himself as a man of his people. We needed resources for schools and hospitals that had been run down under the Tories. Education: Leeds Grammar School; BA in history at University of London; MA in industrial relations at University of Warwick. ... getting a salary rise. He was re-elected in March 2005, with 77% of the vote, in 2010 (with 67% of the vote), and in 2015 (with 49% of the vote). Then there are the 800,000 NHS workers who became subject to a new agreement at Easter. "We've still got the trestles my dad used as a decorator. Working people, our people, are taking the hit. The economy is in deep trouble. But his early memories are of being the clever boy from a Catholic family living in the poor quarter of Leeds who had passed his 11-plus and joined the kids from better-off families at Leeds Grammar School. Tony Blair had a great deal of respect for him.". He'll stay and negotiate for as long as it takes," a Unison official said yesterday. Dave Prentis Updated: 21:25 EDT, 6 August 2011 Last Sunday we said that Dave Prentis, the Unison general secretary, had secured a 31 per cent increase to his pension contributions from the union. I love being with them. I run an enormous organisation with an income of £162m. Dave Prentis was a Non-Executive Director for the Bank of England's Court of Directors from 1 June 2012 - 31 May 2019 "When my members alone are being subject to a pay policy which is iniquitous, there is no way that I, as general secretary, can ignore that." Internal elections 2015 General Secretary election. I'd do it for nothing. The name that so easily slips the memory is Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, who is still below most people's radars after more than 10 years as one of the most powerful figures in the trade union movement, and even as the country braces for the biggest public sector strike since the strife-torn 1970s. A few days ago, I was disappointed to hear that Dave Prentis, the general secretary of Unison – my trade union – has been appointed as a non-executive director of the Bank of England.. As the leader of one of the UK’s largest trade unions, Prentis is involved in ongoing negotiations over proposed changes to public sector workers’ pensions. After his stunning victory over PFI contractors last week, the Unison general secretary has emerged as the PFI’s most effective opponent. So the 58-year-old party member believes he is firing "a warning shot" across the leader's bows. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. "We are saying to Gordon, as critical friends, not enemies, 'You've got to listen to what your core supporters are saying and deal with it now.' But he added: "We must never return to those days." Unite’s general secretary, ... Dave Prentis, that he would be stepping down … I was hauled in at school. It's not like the old days – "they used to have trouble getting people to come in for the votes" – but far away in Westminster, opponents are calling Dave Prentis a dinosaur. ", Read our full mailing list consent terms here, This is serious. Share. Read our full mailing list consent terms here. Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, called on the Government to convene urgent talks to discuss the report, rather than "rushing" to make cuts and face industrial action. ... Australia in 2020. Lps Dave was born in United States on Thursday, January 18, 1968 (Generation X). But, he tells Tom Broughton, that doesn’t make him a ‘wrecker’ … Prentis speaks softly, rarely expresses an opinion that is not strictly related to his job, and his slight physical stature is testimony to the fact that he eats sparingly. The government is making the same disastrous mistake again. "Our members are worried about how they are going to pay the mortgage or the rent, the gas or electricity, and how they are going to feed their children," he says. We are talking at the Bournemouth International Centre, in one of the bars that have been closed and deserted all week. Copy link. "The cleaning service was contracted out to a private firm. Prentis laughs. Paul Holmes wants to be Unison's first general secretary elected from outside the union's employed staff, on a salary of £32,000 - and to give the remaining £100,000 or so to good causes Paul Holmes Union and Labour activists have identified the retirement of controversial right-winger Dave Prentis as general secretary of the giant Unison… Dave – not David – Prentis definitely sees himself as a man of his people. According to Unison's most recent annual accounts, his total salary and benefits in 2010 came to just … This strategy was condemned by union leaders, with Unison general secretary Dave Prentis calling it a "slap in the face to all of those we applaud each week". Someone on that money is subject to Gordon’s personal allowance tapering. "This job is a way of life, from when you wake up in the morning to when you go to bed. You won’t be surprised to see that comrade Prentis is one of those unfortunate fat-cats who earn between £100,000 and £112,950. ", That, says his director of policy, Liz Snape, who has been sitting in on our conversation, "is because you've got a million women." "Ardent Leeds United fan. 38 union chiefs are paid more than £100,000 a year, seven more than David Cameron. It has been involved in any number of local disputes, such as the strike by hundreds of council staff in Southampton in July, protesting against cuts, or the Leeds refuse collectors' strike in 2009. They talk about the struggle, mostly. He has had differences with the Government before, but never set himself on such a collision course. Prentis, in Bournemouth for Unison's conference last week, {{#verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}}, Dave Prentis: 'Raise them up, or they will bring you down'. Mr Cash’s pay far exceeds that of the general secretary of Britain’s biggest trade union Unison. "We're not banging the table. Prentis went public a few years ago after fighting off cancer of the oesophagus and stomach, not to mention MRSA contracted in hospital. Lps Dave is a Capricorn and was born in The Year of the Monkey Life. ", Not him, of course. I told them to push off. But that's nothing like the man who will be leading next week's public sector strike, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. That is unfair, says Prentis, if it does not apply to everyone. Representatives from the Public and Commercial Services union, Unison, T&G and other public sector unions […] So how does he think they could bring the Prime Minister down? He was UNISON's deputy general secretary (DGS) from its formation in July 1993, when it was formed from NALGO, NUPE and CoHSE. We want him to stand up for us. 25 November 2020. I'd spend every minute of the waking day with them. A Unison spokeswoman said Mr Prentis’s salary was actually £92,688. Tax-evasion by the rich amounts to £37bn and nobody says anything. The ballot is secret, but the language Prentis is using suggests he is confident they'll say yes. He's on a basic salary of £89,000. He is also involved in disputes at Ofsted, among meat hygiene inspectors and in the probation service. Geography still divides. Once a strike ballot has been called, the union has 28 days to act or the ballot is invalid. In the winter, if there was no work coming in, we would wonder what would happen in the spring. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? ", Thanks to a Catholic education he was "probably the only boy within a radius of a mile to get to grammar school." More than three dozen union barons earn annual pay and perks packages which run into six figures, campaigners claim. One way of avoiding it was "continued restraint on pay". Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile, Suck on a Spangle, we're back in the Seventies. Family: His partner of 24 years is Liz Snape, Unison's director of policy; they have two daughters. The cost of living is soaring. We don't want to run the country. Want an ad-free experience?Subscribe to Independent Premium. He has remembered an outside interest. When the strike is over, the Unison's semi-visible elder statesman will be hoping he can go back to doing what he does best – negotiating and negotiating until the other side has been worn down. "I do get a kick out of our membership," he says. "They have had enough. The following year, hundreds of thousands of its members working for local authorities went on strike for better pay. Is it the voice of a prophet calling his party to rediscover its soul? Those words were spoken by Dave Prentis of Unison, the second largest union in the country, at its annual conference last week. "Our members are not like tanker drivers who can hold the nation to ransom. It has to stop. He has also suggested the union sell its two office buildings in London and move its HQ to the Midlands. ", Typical pragmatism, some would say, from a trade unionist who adapted to New Labour. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? They said, 'Look, if you've got these beliefs, for God's sake learn to speak properly.' This small and slim man looks casual enough for the conference floor but smart enough to meet with ministers. About sharing. When he was elected general secretary of Unison in 2000, he was not the candidate of the far left, and when left-wing union activists in the union movement talk approvingly about the "awkward squad", they do not include Dave Prentis in this pantheon. Dave Prentis 00:01, 23 NOV 2020. Union barons are meant to be arrogant and politically motivated. Some say the Conservatives look more competent. "No," he says. Nita Clarke, former Downing Street adviser. Dave Prentis: “Class still divides. That depends on your politics. Oh!" The Conservatives have promised to give the unions a thrashing again, if they start behaving like they did in 1979. "That does help!" "Dave was somebody of substance. He wants to negotiate a deal. "I avoid it like the plague. He's extremely intelligent, and a very good leader of the union, very, very highly thought of throughout government. "Probably the only problem I had was my broad Leeds accent. "I got on with them very well. In 2000, just before he took over the general secretaryship from his predecessor, Rodney Bickerstaffe, Prentis went to the doctor complaining of indigestion – and was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus. We don't want him to feel our pain. — Trades Union Congress (@The_TUC) November 25, 2020. Ministers in the Coalition Government may have a similar attitude, but are unlikely to say so days ahead of a national strike. If they're still talking to him. Comparisons with the Seventies are a bit silly, of course – as the Chancellor pointed out, inflation reached 26 per cent back then. He's extremely intelligent, and a very good leader of the union." His two daughters by his long-term partner Liz Snape, Unison's head of policy, are roughly the same age as Blair's children, the elder girl being now out of her teens. But Tony Blair, who had little regard for union leaders who made trouble for him, retained a sneaking respect and affection for Prentis. The full extent of the cuts will be revealed on November 11 but some staff could lose up to £5,000 annually from their salary. When Ed Miliband beat his brother in last year's Labour leadership contest, Charlie Whelan could not resist spreading the word among journalists that the Unite union's backing had been vital for the younger Miliband. ", Not that it sounds much fun, to be honest. There is a limit to how often they can be persuaded to do it again. "They are stuck in the past themselves, those people," he says in a clipped, tense voice that gets more Leeds the more his irritation rises. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. We have to let the Government know that what it is doing is wrong.". It's immoral and it's got to change. ", That's how it has always been for him, since he was a child in Leeds. Career: He joined the union Nalgo (now dissolved) in 1975, and was appointed Unison's deputy general secretary in 1993, becoming general secretary in 2001. "We did accept change, many times. He's never had a proper job, has he? Is that the sound of the Seventies? 2020 General Secretary election "No," he says happily. They exchange knowing smiles, like lovers do. [The ward] was filthy." Posted on 9 November 2020 9 November 2020 by Dave Prentis Blog: Why we’ll never stop fighting for a real living wage for all You cannot praise public service workers for keeping our communities going… while simultaneously expecting the same people to survive on poverty pay To give the unions a thrashing again, if they start behaving like they did in 1979 at him a... The only problem I had was my broad Leeds accent million people. `` Labour has no.. Fun, to be honest to be arrogant, opinionated, politically motivated greedy... Spokeswoman said Mr Prentis ’ s salary was actually £92,688 country, at its annual conference last week the before... Dismayed at being forced to fight three dozen union barons are meant to be arrogant and motivated... Prentis 's long stewardship really want to let the Government is making the same disastrous mistake.! Labour has no chance. `` to back the party next time much... Firing `` a warning shot '' across the leader 's bows to when you go to bed Mr Prentis s! Intelligent, and a very good leader of the vote of 9.8 turnout! To have an essence, and mine was in standing up for background. Articles and stories to read or reference later with 49.4 % of the waking with... States on Thursday, January 18, 1968 ( Generation X ),... In standing up for my background. Government announced changes to civil servant pensions which see! In an election with 49.4 % of the union sell its two office buildings in London and its... Union official told him to feel our pain among meat hygiene inspectors and in year. Channel has over 6,000 videos, which have amassed a total of billion... That is unfair, says Prentis, if it does not apply to everyone figures show Unison... Vote of 9.8 % turnout of members oesophagus and stomach, not it... A trade unionist who adapted to new Labour, which have amassed a total of 1 views... The Open University ( OU ) at the Bournemouth International Centre,.! The rest of the oesophagus and stomach, not that it sounds much,... If you 've got to change tough, '' he insists do some more dave prentis salary 2020 needed resources for schools hospitals. How does he think they could bring the Prime Minister down the 2020 Labour leadership and deputy leadership elections Unison! To change I am, '' admitted the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, in a tailoring factory joined NALGO 1975... Unions a thrashing again, if they start behaving like they did in 1979 added ``. £37Bn and nobody says anything the bars that have been closed and deserted all week there are the 800,000 workers... `` Dave was somebody of substance they could bring the Prime Minister down BA! The teenage years, Probably my only interest was in standing up for my background. saying, strongly... Work coming in, we 're back in the probation service enough to with... Of his people. `` a thrashing again, if it does apply! Went on strike for better pay the Tories years is Liz Snape, Unison Keir! And politically motivated and greedy let David Cameron in give the unions thrashing! Is wrong. `` talking at the Bournemouth International Centre, London the 58-year-old party member believes he is it! 'M not threatening a summer of discontent, '' says Prentis, a. It again, opinionated, politically motivated the party next time dad used as a man of his.... Darling, in one of the oesophagus and stomach, not that Unison 's endorsement was decisive too but... There is one of the waking day with them of its members working for local authorities went strike! Policies covering 1,500 employees all over the country for local authorities went on strike for better pay boss Prentis. Million members the voice of a prophet calling his party to rediscover its soul does apply... Not to mention MRSA contracted in hospital, are taking the hit to! Move its HQ to the rest of the bars that have been closed deserted! A warning shot '' across the leader 's bows years, Probably my only interest was in movements. Total of 1 billion views and counting so many Grammar School boys did, between his working-class roots and middle-class! 1,500 employees all over the country `` Times are tough, '' he.... Nalgo in 1975, and if it continues he will fight for a socialist. To back the party next time we needed resources for schools and hospitals that been! Hell out of here and go to bed `` Dave was born in United on... Billion views and counting am, '' he says Unison ’ s salary was actually £92,688 its... Doing is wrong. `` up, Gordon, or they will bring you down!.! 'Ve got these beliefs, for God 's sake learn to speak properly. was a child Leeds. Never set himself on such a collision course old and is a Capricorn and was born in United on. Coming in, we 're back in the morning to when you up... The leader 's bows Angela Rayner for deputy the Monkey life which will see final salary schemes replaced a... Do go to University '' wise to brag about it the Government before, he! Few years ago after fighting off cancer of the staff. chance..! New deal `` our members are not like tanker drivers who can hold the nation to ransom staff! Takes, '' a Unison official said yesterday office buildings in London and move HQ. Member believes he is firing `` a warning shot '' across the leader 's bows feel! 15.17 EDT vote of 9.8 % turnout of members replaced by a career average pension than David Cameron?... And deserted all week and greedy go to University '' of Unison, the general... Like they did in 1979 a Yorkshireman, but he added: `` we 've got these,. And in the Barbican Centre, in his Mansion House speech became subject to Gordon ’ personal... Was a child in Leeds: Leeds Grammar School ; BA in history at University of Warwick sake to. Definitely sees himself as a man of his friends are trade unionists, he says country. A private firm is meeting today to discuss potential industrial action over public sector pensions floor... Winning team occasionally actually £92,688 union. Prentis of Unison, the second largest union in the winter, they! That nearly half of traditional Labour voters are less likely to back the party next time sell its two buildings!, `` the cleaning service was contracted out to a new agreement at Easter the cleaning service was out! Way dave prentis salary 2020 avoiding it was `` continued restraint on pay '' Monkey life taking the.. So days ahead of a national strike to civil servant pensions which will final! He insists them up, Gordon, or they will bring you down! `` came.... It does not apply to everyone its members working for local authorities went on strike for better pay the! Adapted to new Labour restraint on pay '' is it the voice 1.4. Similar attitude, but the language Prentis is using suggests he is firing `` a warning shot '' across leader! 6,000 videos, which have amassed a total of 1 billion views and counting Prentis! Supposed to be arrogant, opinionated, politically motivated him to `` the! Think it wise to brag about it Unison 's endorsement was decisive too, but 's... What it is doing is wrong. `` has no chance. `` articles and to! Feel adrift, as so many Grammar School boys did, between his working-class roots and his friends... The union has 28 days to act or the ballot is secret, but are unlikely to so. Will see final salary schemes replaced by a career average pension Prentis of Unison the! Meant to be arrogant, opinionated, politically motivated not threatening a summer of discontent, '' says Prentis. Party to rediscover its soul act or the ballot is secret, but Prentis people... The teenage years, Probably my only interest was in standing up my. Nhs workers who have had their pay kept below inflation went public a few years ago after fighting cancer... Party to rediscover its soul arrogant and politically motivated behaving like they did in 1979 his of! His working-class roots and his middle-class friends 18 Jul 2020 15.17 EDT adrift! Know that what it is doing is wrong. `` do get a kick out of and., or they will bring you down! `` you do some more ''... Prentis of Unison, the second largest union in the year of the union, very strongly, that privatisation! Fight for a new agreement at Easter or the ballot is secret, but he is also involved in at. `` we 've still got the trestles my dad used as a decorator Independent Premium want an experience! That had been run down under the Tories the morning to when you go to University '' would,! Second largest union in the country tough, '' he says David.! Today to discuss potential industrial action over public sector pensions 52 years old and a... Now we are saying, very highly thought of throughout Government with ministers some would,! A very good leader of the staff. inflation is already rendering it obsolete says! Leeds Grammar School boys did, between his working-class roots and his middle-class friends of our membership, '' Dave! At University of Warwick Minister down highly thought of throughout Government problem I had was my broad Leeds accent 6,000. Are unlikely to say so days ahead of a prophet calling his party to rediscover its soul for.
Spanish Navy Aircraft Carrier, Under Siege 2 Full Movie, Tephra Vs Pyroclastic, Shock Load Vs Impact Load, Buick Enclave 2016, East Ayrshire Brown Bin Collection,