David Keith Brookman, Baron Brookman (born 3 January 1937) is a British steel worker and

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 ...

. The son of George Henry Brookman and Blodwin Nash, he was educated at Nantyglo Grammar School in

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

. Brookman worked as steel worker for

Richard Thomas and Baldwins Richard Thomas and Baldwins Ltd (RTB) was a major iron, steel and tinplate producer, primarily based in Wales and formed in 1948 by the merger of Richard Thomas & Co Ltd with Baldwins Ltd. It was absorbed into British Steel Corporation in 1967. The ...

Ebbw Vale Ebbw Vale (; cy, Glynebwy) is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River in Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough. The Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr con ...

from 1953 until 1955, when he began his service in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

. In 1957, he returned to his job and performed it to 1973. For the

Iron and Steel Trades Confederation The Iron and Steel Trades Confederation (ISTC) was a British trade union for metal-workers and allied groups, being the largest union in these fields. It was formed on 1 January 1917 as a merger of existing steel-workers' unions and it is now pa ...

, he was divisional organiser from 1973 to 1985, assistant general secretary from 1985 to 1993 and eventually general secretary from 1993 to 1999. Since 1993, he is a board member of

British Steel plc British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and UK Steel Enterprise. From 1976 to 1982, Brookman was member of the TUC Educational Advisory Committee for Wales and from 1992 to 1999, 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 ...

. He was also member of the European Coal and Steel Committee from 1992 to 2002 and of the

International Metalworkers' Federation The International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF) was a global union federation of metalworkers' trade unions, founded in Zürich, Switzerland in August 1893. the IMF had more than 200 member organisations in 100 countries, representing a combine ...

. Between 1992 and 1999, he was further president of the Iron and Steel Non-Ferrous Department. Brookman was member of the

Joint Industrial Council for Slag Industry A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...

and of the British Steel Joint Accident Prevention Advisory Committee from 1985 to 1993. He was also member of the British Steel Advisory Committee on Education and Training from 1986 to 1993, and of the executive council of the

European Metalworkers' Federation The European Metalworkers' Federation (EMF), founded in 1971, is a federation of 68 metalworkers' unions from 31 countries, representing a combined total of 6.5 million affiliates. It is based in Brussels, Belgium, the general secretary is Ulric ...

from 1985 to 1995. Since 1991, he is member of the National T.U. Steel Co-ordinating Committee and since 1993, its chairman. Between 1993 and 2002, he was member of the European Coal and Steel Community Consultative Committee, between 1993 and 1998 joint secretary of the British Steel Strip Trade Board and of the British Steel Joint Standing Committee, as well as joint secretary of the British Steel European Works Council between 1996 and 1999. Brookman was governor of the Gwent College of Higher Education from 1980 to 1984 and trustee of the

Julian Melchett Trust Julian may refer to: People * Julian (emperor) (331–363), Roman emperor from 361 to 363 * Julian (Rome), referring to the Roman gens Julia, with imperial dynasty offshoots * Saint Julian (disambiguation), several Christian saints * Julian (give ...

from 1985 to 1995. Since 2001, he is president of the

Welsh Trust for Prevention of Abuse Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

. On 30 July 1998, he was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

with the title Baron Brookman, ''of

in the

County of Gwent Gwent is a preserved county and former local government county in southeast Wales. A county of Gwent was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972; it was named after the ancient Kingdom of Gwent. The authority was a successor ...

'' and sits for

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

. In May 2019 it was revealed that Brookman claimed over £50,000 in expenses, covering a 12-month period, during which he never once spoke or submitted written questions and never took part in a single debate. He retired from the House of Lords in April 2020. Since 1958, he has been married to Patricia Worthington, daughter of Lawrence Worthington. They have three daughters.

References

' {{DEFAULTSORT:Brookman, David 1937 births Living people Brookman General Secretaries of the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress Life peers created by Elizabeth II