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Unison West Berkshire's Tweet after Prince Philip death sparks outrage




The message was posted on Unison West Berkshire's Twitter account. (46091529)
The message was posted on Unison West Berkshire's Twitter account. (46091529)

A LOCAL union branch has distanced itself from a controversial Tweet that was made on its feed following the death of Prince Philip last week.

The Tweet sparked outrage on Friday, with commentators nationwide condemning the remarks as offensive and inappropriate, but Unison West Berkshire has told the Newbury Weekly News that it does not reflect the branch position and was made by an individual member of staff.

The branch added that the statement had been made without the approval of the local executive and that the person who put the message out has been removed from their position.

A Unison spokesperson added: "These comments do not represent the views of the union. Our sympathies are with the Queen and her family at this difficult time."

Unison West Berkshire's Twitter account published the statement at 12.15pm – around 15 minutes after the announcement of the royal's death on Friday.

It read: "Quick grammatical tip, apropos of nothing – correct usage is 'one fewer bigot' and not 'one less bigot'."

Other users criticised the comment.

A spokesperson for Unison West Berkshire has said that the individual who controlled the Twitter account has since been removed from an executive position, but they have refused to disclose details for the account, meaning staff have been unable to remove the offending comments.

West Berkshire Council is also among the official bodies condemning the statement.

The council's chief executive Nick Carter said: "I am sure I will be speaking for all of our members and staff when I say that we were very shocked to see how the West Berkshire branch of Unison chose to respond to the death of the Duke of Edinburgh on Friday.

"I personally found the comments offensive, upsetting and wholly inappropriate.

"I am aware that Unison, both regionally and nationally, have acted quickly to distance themselves from the branch's views. We are doing likewise.

"More specifically, I have written to Christina McAnea, the general secretary of Unison, expressing our alarm and concern at what has been written, particularly since some seem to be attributing these statements to the council and its staff.

"The letter highlights this posting and formally registers a complaint on behalf of the council regarding the conduct of the West Berkshire branch.

"I have also requested an urgent meeting with Unison officials at a national level.

"In the meantime I have also written to the chairman of the West Berkshire branch of Unison as this incident has made it clear to me that there are fundamental and irreconcilable differences in the values of the council and those being exercised by the West Berkshire branch of Unison.

"As a result existing collaborative agreements will come to an end."

On the nature of the agreements terminated, a council spokesperson said: "In addition to its statutory responsibilities, the council extended a number of courtesies to Unison West Berkshire to support a positive working relationship with it.

"This included regular meetings between Unison, the Chief Executive and HR, attendance at corporate induction sessions and use of the council’s network to send emails to all staff.

"These have all now been suspended as we seek to distance ourselves from the branch, and we will be deciding on further action later in the week."



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