Barry Arthur Reamsbottom (born 4 April 1949) is a former Scottish civil servant and

trade union 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 benefits ( ...

General Secretary. He was General Secretary of the

Civil and Public Services Association The Civil and Public Services Association (CPSA) was a trade union in the United Kingdom, representing civil servants. History The union was founded in 1921, when the Civil Service Clerical Union and the Clerical Officers' Association merged ...

(1992–1998) and its successor the

Public and Commercial Services Union The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) is the sixth largest trade union in the United Kingdom. Most of its members work in UK government departments and other public bodies. History The union was founded in 1998 by the merger of th ...

(1998–2002).

Biography

Reamsbottom is from

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

and lived in a children's home run by Catholic nuns, Nazareth House, from the age of 7 to 14. He started his career in the

DHSS The Department of Health and Social Security (commonly known as the DHSS) was a ministry of the British government in existence for twenty years from 1968 until 1988, and was headed by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Services. Hi ...

, before becoming a full-time trade union employee, eventually Press Officer for the CPSA from 1987 to 1992. Reamsbottom was elected General Secretary of CPSA on the Moderate ticket. In 1999, he oversaw the merger of CPSA and the

Public Services, Tax and Commerce Union The Public Services, Tax and Commerce Union (PTC) was a short-lived trade union in the United Kingdom. The union was formed in January 1996, when the Inland Revenue Staff Federation merged with the National Union of Civil and Public Servants.< ...

(PTC) to form the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) which included in the agreement that he could continue as General Secretary until 2004. However, in a union members vote, 97% ordered a fresh election. After only securing 32 out of 50 nominations required, Reamsbottom decided not to stand for re-election on the proviso he stood down in 2002, but continued to be paid until 2004. Reamsbottom's preferred candidate for General Secretary of PCS, Hugh Lanning, then lost the 2000 election to a left-wing candidate,

Mark Serwotka Mark Henryk Serwotka (; born 26 April 1963) is General Secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), the largest trade union representing British civil servants. He was President of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) for 2019. Earl ...

. Lanning accepted the result, but Reamsbottom, rather than retire as agreed in 2002, instead continued in the post claiming the election had been invalid. At a meeting of the Moderate-dominated executive in May 2002, a motion was carried reversing the election of Serwotka. Reamsbottom said afterwards, "I have been through a hard school... I would rather go out in a box". Serwotka took office in June, but Reamsbottom and the new General Secretary proceeded to countermand one another, with Reamsbottom ordering Serwotka's staff and secretary to stop working for him. In late 2002, a High Court judge confirmed the election had been carried out properly and Reamsbottom had no further claim to the office. Reamsbottom became Vice President of the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

-sponsored think tank, the Trade Union Committee for European and Transatlantic Understanding.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reamsbottom, Barry Living people 1949 births Scottish trade unionists People from Aberdeen General Secretaries of the Civil and Public Services Association General Secretaries of the Public and Commercial Services Union Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress