Andrew Charles Gilchrist (born 5 December 1960) is a British

trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

and former firefighter who served as the General Secretary of the

Fire Brigades Union The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) is a trade union in the United Kingdom for wholetime firefighters (including officers up to chief fire officer / firemaster), retained firefighters and emergency control room staff. History The first recorded inst ...

from 2000 to 2005.

Early life

Gilchrist was born the son of Edward and Shirley Gilchrist. He was educated at

Bedford Modern School Bedford Modern School (often called BMS) is a Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference independent school in Bedford, England. The school has its origins in Bedford Charity, The Harpur Trust, born from the financial endowment, endowments le ...

Career

Gilchrist started his career at the Bedfordshire and Luton Fire and Rescue Service, where he worked from 1979 until 1996. As a member of the

, he became a member of the executive council in 1993, a position he held until 2000. He was a national officer from 1996 to 2000 and General Secretary from 2000 to 2005, leading the FBU through the

2002-2003 UK firefighter dispute The 2002–2003 UK firefighter dispute was a period of nationwide strike action which began when the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) voted to strike in an attempt to secure better salaries. The FBU demanded a 39 percent increase in pay, which would ha ...

before he was voted out in favour of

Matt Wrack Matthew D. Wrack (born 23 May 1962) is a British trade unionist and former firefighter. He was elected General Secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) in May 2005. Politics Wrack joined the Labour Party Young Socialists in Salford in 1978 ...

in 2005. Gilchrist was a Member of the General Council of the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...

from 2000 to 2005 and a member of the

International Brotherhood of Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), also known as the Teamsters Union, is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of The Team Drivers International Union and The Teamsters National Union, the un ...

from 2006 to 2008. Since 2010 he has been the National Education Officer at the

National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (commonly known as the RMT) is a British trade union covering the transport sector. Its current President is Alex Gordon and its current General Secretary is Mick Lynch. The RMT is on ...

Phone hacking scandal

Gilchrist was a victim of the

News International phone hacking scandal The News International phone hacking scandal was a controversy involving the now-defunct ''News of the World'' and other British newspapers owned by Rupert Murdoch. Employees of the newspaper were accused of engaging in phone hacking, police b ...

Family life

Gilchrist married Loretta Borman in 1985 and they have a son (Alexander Mark Gilchrist) and a daughter (Scarlett Faye Gilchrist).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilchrist, Andrew Charles General Secretaries of the Fire Brigades Union British firefighters 1960 births Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress People educated at Bedford Modern School Living people