Ken Cameron (9 December 1941 – 16 May 2016) was a Scottish

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 benefits (s ...

. He was the head 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 ins ...

for 20 years, from 1980 to 2000.

Early life

Born in Fort William to an Irish Catholic mother and a Scottish father, who worked as a linesman for the General Post Office, Cameron attended Fort William Senior Secondary School until he was fifteen. His first job on leaving school was as a cadet in the

Inverness-shire Constabulary The Inverness-shire Constabulary, also called the Inverness County Police, was the police force of the county of Inverness-shire in Scotland. The force was established in 1840. On 16 November 1968 the Constabulary merged with Inverness Burgh Pol ...

, but he did not enjoy this and left to become a trainee reporter on the ''

Aberdeen Press and Journal ''The Press and Journal'' is a daily regional newspaper serving northern and highland Scotland including the cities of Aberdeen and Inverness. Established in 1747, it is Scotland's oldest daily newspaper, and one of the longest-running newspap ...

''. This too was not a success; while covering the

Drumnadrochit Drumnadrochit (; gd, Druim na Drochaid) is a village in the Highland local government council area of Scotland, lying near the west shore of Loch Ness at the foot of Glen Urquhart. The village is close to several neighbouring settlements: the vi ...

Highland Games, he was unable to work on his assignment. His friends tried to help out but mistakenly listed the girl who had won the egg-and-spoon race as having won the

caber toss The caber toss is a traditional Scottish athletic event in which competitors toss a large tapered pole called a "caber" (/ˈkeɪbər/). It is normally practised at the Scottish Highland Games. In Scotland, the caber is usually made from a l ...

. Subsequently, while covering a swimming competition, he fell into the pool, disrupting the event, which led to him losing the job.Obituary - Ken Cameron, tough union leader who played role in miners' strike
, '' The Herald'', 20 May 2016 Cameron spent time as a labourer on a hydro-electric scheme, before moving to Birmingham to join the

fire brigade A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...

. Paul Routledge,
Fire Brigades Union's colourful leader Ken Cameron was a 'socialist and a comrade'
, '' The Mirror'', 17 May 2016 While there, he developed an interest in horse racing, and became a supporter of

Aston Villa F.C. Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Pa ...

Fire Brigades Union

He joined the

(FBU), becoming a full-time official and then, in 1980, its general secretary. His appointment was supported by his predecessor,

Terry Parry Terence Parry CBE (24 December 1921 – 15 April 1982) was a British firefighter and trade unionist. Born in Coniston, Lancashire, Parry started work for the Blue Funnel Line at the age of fifteen. He served in the Royal Navy in the Pacific d ...

, and also by Mick McGahey of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). Known as a

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

, Cameron undertook much activity in support of Nelson Mandela and against

apartheid in South Africa Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

.Jon Stone,
Former Fire Brigades Union general secretary Ken Cameron dies
, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'', 17 May 2016 From 1981 to 1983, and again from 1991 until 1999, he served on the

General Council of the Trades Union Congress The General Council of the Trades Union Congress is an elected body which is responsible for carrying out the policies agreed at the annual British Trade Union Congresses (TUC). Organisation The council has 56 members, all of whom must be proposed ...

(TUC),

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in England and Wales, representing the majority of trade unions. There are 48 affiliated unions, with a total of about 5.5 million members. Frances ...

,
Congress Report 2011
/ref> He was a supporter of rights for the people of Palestine and in 1982, was the first person to propose a motion in support of Palestine at the TUC. During the 1984/85 miners' strike, he campaigned in support of the miners and made a loan of £200,000 of FBU funds to the NUM. While he used threats to strike to successfully maintain pay and conditions for members, under his leadership, the union never needed to mount a strike. Cameron celebrated the Labour Party's general election win in 1997 but by 1999, Cameron was disillusioned with them, and he advocated that the FBU disaffiliate from Labour; this finally happened in 2004.

Later life

He retired from the FBU in 2000, serving as chair of the

People's Press Printing Society The People's Press Printing Society (PPPS) is a readers' co-operative with the purpose of owning and publishing a left-wing, British, daily newspaper. The co-operative was established in 1945, with shares sold at £1. Originally the paper was title ...

(publisher of the '' Morning Star'') and on the

Central Arbitration Committee The Central Arbitration Committee is a UK government body, whose task is to oversee the regulation of UK labour law as it relates to trade union recognition and collective bargaining. Chairs * Michael Burton *Former deputy chair, PL Davies See a ...

, and moved to

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. Cameron died at the age of 74, on 16 May 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, Ken 1941 births 2016 deaths British firefighters General Secretaries of the Fire Brigades Union Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress People from Fort William, Highland