Derek Simpson (trade unionist) was an employee for whom from 2007 to 2010?
Derek Simpson ( trade unionist ) Derek Simpson ( born 23 December 1944 ) is a British trade unionist who was the Joint-General Secretary of the UKs biggest private-sector trade union , Unite , from 2007 until 2010 . He was previously the General Secretary of Amicus from 2002 until its merger with the Transport and General Workers Union to form Unite in 2007 . Early life . Derek Simpson was born and educated in Sheffield . He was an only child with an absent father . He attended Sheffield Central Technical School ( a technical school , which transferred to the Ashleigh School in Gleadless and was then demolished having merged to become Myrtle Springs School which is now Sheffield Springs Academy ) . In 1987 he received an Open University BSc in Computing and Mathematics . He was appointed an honorary fellow of Sheffield Hallam University in 1999 . Career . From 1960 to 1966 he worked for Firth Brown Tools , then Balfour Darwin from 1966 to 1981 , then working full-time as a union official . AEU . He joined the Amalgamated Engineering Union ( AEU ) on becoming an apprentice at the age of 15 . He became an AEU shop steward at Balfour Darwin in 1967 and held a number of increasingly senior union positions in workplaces where he was employed , learning his politics in what described as the socialist republic of South Yorkshire . In 1981 he became a full-time union official , becoming the AEUs District Secretary for Sheffield . He was still working for the union in that city when he stood for the position of Joint General Secretary in 2002 . General Secretary of Amicus . Simpson was the surprise winner of the June 2002 election for the position of Joint General Secretary of the AEEU Section of Amicus . He beat Tony Blairs favourite trade unionist – Sir Ken Jackson . He assumed the position of General Secretary in May 2004 following the departure of the MSF Sections JGS , Roger Lyons . In the above election , Simpson was seen as the left candidate , and was backed by the broad left in the AEEU , now known as Amicus Unity Gazette . During this election campaign he appeared at fringe meetings of the Amicus MSF section conference in Blackpool , defying an instruction from Jackson not to attend . He was still identified with the Unity Gazette and appeared at their national meetings until 2008 , when he helped launch a rival Workers Uniting Group . Simpson has repeatedly denied press claims , that he was part of the Awkward Squad of trade union leaders opposed to New Labour policies , that they perceive to be against the interests of working people . Simpson stated that he is not in the awkward squad : I get named as such , but its astonishing that nobodys able to back that up with any fact . Since becoming General Secretary , he has been supportive of the links between Amicus and the Labour Party . A member of the Communist Party of Great Britain until its disbanding in 1991 , he joined the Labour Party in 1994 . He was involved in the negotiation that let to the 2004 Warwick Agreement , in which the Labour Party agreed to implement some of the trade unions policies during their third term . He favoured the early departure of Tony Blair as Labour Party Leader and Prime Minister . Joint General Secretary of Unite . On 9 October 2008 , the Executive Council of Unite decided that there would be an election for the General Secretary ( Amicus section ) , with a timetable of January/February 2009 for the election , the results to be announced in March 2009 . This election was for a fixed term until December 2010 . The Executive council also postponed the merger of the union and adoption of the new rule book until May 2009 . In May 2010 , during confidential negotiations with British Airways under the chairmanship of conciliation service Acas to resolve an ongoing dispute , Simpson was found to be using his BlackBerry to update his Twitter account with progress of the confidential negotiations . Personal life . Simpson met his first wife Freda when working at a greyhound track , parading the dogs and setting the traps . They married on 23 December 1967 in Sheffield . They divorced in 1974 , and in 1976 Simpson married Linda Gilliver ; they have two sons ( born 1980 and September 1986 ) and a daughter ( born 1982 ) . Simpson then divorced Linda , and remarried Freda , who has two sons ( born 1979 and August 1984 ) and a daughter ( born 1977 ) from her previous marriage . They live in an £800,000 grace-and-favour house in Berkhamsted , Hertfordshire provided by Unite for the duration of Simpsons entire lifetime or that of his most recent partner , whichever is longer . Simpson is a keen chess player , and likes Star Trek . External links . - A message from Unites joint general secretaries Unite - Key players in union movement BBC News , 5 September 2007