Rail union will appeal against tribunal ruling

The ASLEF rail union is to appeal against a ruling that the dismissal of its general secretary, Sean Brady, was unfair.

Brady was elected in 2003 after standing against the incumbent, Mick Rix, who had been supported by the union's Executive Committee.

The union dismissed Brady in August 2004 and expelled him from the union on a number of charges. These included his involvement in fights at the infamous "barbeque incident" and failing to co-operate with the "Kelly inquiry" - an independent review of the running of the union.

The tribunal which agreed Brady's unfair dismissal claim, said that the ASLEF Executive Committee had not, as it alleged, dismissed Brady for gross misconduct, but because they were "determined to dismiss the general secretary who had been elected in spite of their opposition to him."

The tribunal relied on evidence that the Executive had deliberately made life difficult for Brady. This included imposing a £500 spending limit on him, failing to provide him with adequate accommodation and involving themselves to a higher degree than previously in the day-to-day running of the union.

A hearing to decide whether Brady should be re-instated as ASLEF general secretary is due to start on 17 January.

However, the Executive Committee plans to appeal as it considers the tribunal failed to take account of the main accusations against Brady, in particular his involvement in the fights and failure to co-operate with the Kelly inquiry.