by Keith Richmond
TONY DUBBINS, former general secretary of the NGA and, more recently, deputy general secretary of Unite, has retired after a life devoted to the trade union movement.
Mr Dubbins was described by colleagues at Unite as “a giant of the trade union movement” who built his reputation “not simply as a negotiator but by his leadership during some of the crucial moments in modern trade union history when he demonstrated the best attributes of strength, unity and solidarity”.
He became a full time union official in the Chiltern & Thames Valley branch of the National Graphical Association, then assistant general secretary and, finally, general secretary, succeeding Joe Wade, in 1984.
This was at the height of the Thatcher Government’s brutal assault on Britain’s unions and the NGA was in the forefront of the fight with Eddie Shah’s Stockport Messenger at Warrington and Rupert Murdoch’s move from Fleet Street to Wapping. He was also instrumental in mobilising support for the miners during the bitter NUM strike of 1984-85.
He became general secretary of the GPMU after the NGA merged with SOGAT in 1990 and deputy general secretary of Amicus after a merger in 2004. He worked tirelessly with TULO, was president of the TUC in 1997 and, as the longest-serving member of its general council, joked earlier this year that if he didn’t retire soon it would be his turn to be president again. Now, he says, he can spend more time watching West Ham United.
