Gary Smith (born 1965) is a Scottish trade union leader.
Born in Edinburgh,[1] Smith completed an apprenticeship as a gas fitter, joining the GMB at the age of 16. He became a shop steward and when he was 26 the union paid for him to study at Ruskin College, which he followed with a master's degree in industrial relations from Warwick University.[2][3]
After completing his education, Smith returned to working in the gas industry, and to trade union activism. He began working full-time for the union, as Recruitment Officer, then as a Senior Organiser, National Officer, and then as National Secretary for Commercial Services. In 2015, he became the union's Scotland Secretary.[2] In this role, he was frequently critical of the Scottish National Party government.[4] A supporter of Keir Starmer's leadership of the Labour Party, he opposed Richard Leonard's efforts to remain leader of Scottish Labour, despite Leonard being a member of the GMB.[3]
In 2021, Smith was elected as General Secretary of the union, defeating Rehana Azam and Giovanna Holt. As General Secretary, he pledged to implement the recommendations of a report by Karon Monaghan QC, which argued that the union had problems with "bullying, misogyny, cronyism and sexual harassment".[3]
Smith urged the Labour Party to back fracking in September 2022, telling them not to bow to the "bourgeois environmental lobby".[5] In August 2023, Smith criticised the expansion of the London Ultra-Low Emissions Zone and called for the Labour Party to rethink its plans to ban new oil and gas exploration in the North Sea.[6]
In June 2024 the New Statesman named Smith 46th in The Left Power List 2024, the magazine's "guide to the 50 most influential people in progressive politics".[7]
References
edit- ^ Pickard, Jim; Strauss, Delphine (28 August 2022). "Who are the leaders of Britain's modern trade union movement?". Financial Times. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
- ^ a b Evans, Rima (17 March 2021). "Gary Smith, GMB Union Scotland Secretary". IR Guru. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ^ a b c "GMB: Union elects Gary Smith as general secretary". BBC News. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ^ McCall, Chris (3 June 2021). "Scottish trade union veteran Gary Smith elected general secretary of GMB". Daily Record. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ^ Wearmouth, Rachel (22 September 2022). "Labour must "face reality" on the energy crisis and back fracking, says GMB boss". New Statesman. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
- ^ "GMB boss warns Keir Starmer not to risk 'economic destruction'". Express.co.uk. 19 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
- ^ "The Left Power List 2024". New Statesman. 4 June 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2024.