Call for Independent Investigation into GMB General Secretary's Resignation

GMB Grassroots Left* is launching this petition to demand an investigation into the allegations and events surrounding the General Secretary’s recent resignation.
The inept handling and reporting of the allegations testify that the GMB is not capable of conducting an investigation into its own organisation.
In order to guarantee the probity of such an investigation, it must be conducted by an independent external agency to ensure no vested interest can influence the necessary action with the central objective of establishing the facts of the allegations, the events surrounding the former General Secretary’s decision and the subsequent actions of the union Executive.
The terms of reference of such an investigation must include providing investigating agency with the authority to follow whatever direction it deems necessary to meet the above objectives.
Central to the success of the investigation will be to provide staff affected by or privy to knowledge of the events a safe space to come forward and provide input to the investigation without fear of reprisal or victimisation.
In order to guarantee transparency and the independence of the investigation, we also demand that any agency or committee to which the investigation reports includes lay membership representation. As an association of lay members, GMB Grassroots Left requests membership of such an agency or committee.
The events of this issue call into question credibility and integrity of the GMB. The patent and suspicious mishandling undermines the standing of the whole trade union movement and affects all those activists ad members who adhere to and value the union movement.
Therefore, we call on all GMB and trade union members and activists to sign, support and share this petition and support the call for a robust and transparent investigation to :
• deliver practical recommendations
• identify any wrongdoing that has occurred
• acknowledge failures in managing allegations
• attribute responsibility
• deliver workplace justice and
• provide recommendations to mitigate against future undermining of trade union ethics and principles.
* GMB Grassroots Left is a rank and file organisation committed to transform the union from being a top-down institution, run like a business, into a member led bottom-up organisation, where members decide and the union apparatus provides the service it is employed to provide.