Gary Smith (born 1965) is a Scottish

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 ( ...

leader. Born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Smith completed an apprenticeship as a Gas Fitter, joining the GMB at the age of 16. He became a

shop steward A union representative, union steward, or shop steward is an employee of an organization or company who represents and defends the interests of their fellow employees as a labor union member and official. Rank-and-file members of the union hold ...

and when he was 26 the union paid for him to study at

Ruskin College Ruskin College, originally known as Ruskin Hall, Oxford, is an independent educational institution in Oxford, England. It is not a college of Oxford University. It is named after the essayist, art and social critic John Ruskin (1819–1900) an ...

, which he followed with a master's degree in industrial relations from

Warwick University , mottoeng = Mind moves matter , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £7.0 million (2021) , budget = £698.2 million (2020� ...

. After completing his education, Smith returned to working in the gas industry, and to trade union activism. He began working full-time for the union, as Recruitment Officer, then as a Senior Organiser, National Officer, and then as National Secretary for Commercial Services. In 2015, he became the union's Scotland Secretary. In this role, he was frequently critical of the

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...

government. A supporter of

Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (; born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and barrister who has served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St Pancras ...

's leadership of the Labour Party, he opposed

Richard Leonard Richard Leonard (born January 1962) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2017 to 2021. He has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP), as one of the additional members for the Central Scotland r ...

's efforts to remain leader of

Scottish Labour Scottish Labour ( gd, Pàrtaidh Làbarach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Labour Pairty; officially the Scottish Labour Party) is a social democratic political party in Scotland. It is an autonomous section of the UK Labour Party. From their peak of ...

, despite Leonard being a member of the GMB. In 2021, Smith was elected as General Secretary of the union, defeating Rehana Azam and Giovanna Holt. As General Secretary, he pledged to implement the recommendations of a report by Karon Monaghan QC, which argued that the union had problems with "bullying, misogyny, cronyism and sexual harassment". Smith urged the Labour Party to back

fracking Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of bedrock formations by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure injection of "frack ...

in September 2022, telling them not to bow to the "bourgeois environmental lobby".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Gary Living people Alumni of Ruskin College Alumni of the University of Warwick General Secretaries of the GMB (trade union) Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress Trade unionists from Edinburgh Scottish trade unionists 1965 births