Obituary - Rodney Bickerstaffe, trade union leader

Died: October 3, 2017

RODNEY Bickerstaffe, who has died aged 72, was a formidable trade union leader and a champion of the minimum wage who played a key role in the winter of discontent in the 1970s. He also oversaw the creation of the public sector union Unison and became its general secretary.

Trade unionism was in Bickerstaffe's blood. His mother Elizabeth, who initially brought Rodney up on her own, was a nurse and union activist, as was her father. The family lived in the East End of London before moving to Doncaster.

After Doncaster Grammar School, Bickerstaffe studied sociology at Rutherford College of Technology, which became Northumbria University. He was then recruited into the trade union movement by his mother, becoming a Yorkshire area officer for the public sector union Nupe.

He rose through the ranks, becoming its general secretary in 1981, and played a central role in the union's strategy during the winter of discontent. Some blamed Bickerstaffe's union for the gravediggers' stoppage which meant burials were delayed. When asked by a government minister whether Bickerstaffe was concerned about the dignity of the dead, the union leader famously replied that he was concerned about the dignity of the living.

Bickerstaffe's other major concern - long before it became a fashionable issue for the Labour movement - was the minimum wage, and it was not until New Labour came to power in 1997 that the policy finally became law with the passing of the National Minimum Wage Act the following year. Bickerstaffe may not have been the greatest fan of New Labour, but to see the minimum wage finally become a reality was one of the most gratifying moments in his career.

By the early Nineties, Bickerstaffe was general secretary of Unison, which was created by the merge of Nupe with a number of other public sector unions, although he surprised many when he announced his retirement from the role when he was still just 55 after serving just four years.

His campaigning went on however, mainly as president of the national pensioners convention. Later in life, Bickerstaffe also explored the history of his Irish father, who had refused to have anything to do with the family, and discovered that he had three half-brothers.

Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said of Bickerstaffe: "Rodney, or Bick as he was known to many, was a great personal friend to many of us and a dedicated champion of all the union members he proudly represented throughout his career.

"He coupled a great sense of humour and love of laughter with a deep-rooted sense of social justice and commitment to Unison."

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "Not every union leader can say they were loved, but Rodney was loved by everyone. He was a very warm and charismatic leader, with an amazing ability to remember everybody's name regardless of job or rank.

"Rodney will be remembered as a great champion for equality and social justice, especially for low-paid women. He was the powerhouse behind the introduction of the national minimum wage. Rodney was a pillar of the TUC general council and our movement."

Bickerstaffe is survived by his wife Pat and their four children.