A nurse and trade unionist Yunus Bakhsh who was unfairly dismissed from his employment in 2006 by Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust has won a big sum as a final settlement in his dispute against his former employer.
Yunus had won an employment tribunal case against the trust in 2010 claiming unfair dismissal. This victory followed after the trust had ignored the tribunal ruling that he be reinstated. Yunus had challenged them for ignoring the tribunal’s orders.
Thanking all those who supported him in his long legal battle he said that he was fighting for justice and had finally ended to his satisfaction.
He added that though he had not got his job back but was sure that his former bosses at the Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust paid a heavy price for victimising him.
A trade unionist himself he said that he hoped his fight would inspire workers everywhere who face attacks when they stand up for what was right. The victory deters those bosses who think they could get away with sacking trade union militants.
He added that he would have preferred not to have gone through all this but the trust bosses had wasted huge sums of NHS money on sacking him, money which could have been spent on patient care. He blamed them and said it was their fault that they had sacked him in the first place.
He quoted the judge and said it was not often that a judge calls the actions of highly paid bosses “utterly reprehensible”. That’s what the judge Andrew Buchanan said about the trust managers who flouted court order to reinstate him he said.
He added he was proud of his work as a nurse and trade unionist for over 23 years. Like thousands of other health workers, he endured long hours, hard conditions and low pay because of his commitment to the NHS.
He said that there was no way he could have got through to this stage without the support of thousands of other trade unionists who gave him moral and financial support.
But he said he had contempt for the Unison officials who failed to defend him against the attacks on him by his employer. He said they had betrayed the principle of trade unionism.
Talking about why he was victimised he said that he spoke out against fat cat pay rises for the bosses while workers services were being cut. He was victimised because he wanted to see an end to low pay and the bullying culture staff had to endure. He had become a thorn in the side of his bosses for which he said he was driven out.
He added that the judge described him as a well respected and effective militant trade unionist. He was first and foremost a socialist and a fighter for a better world one where no worker gets treated as he was.
He said he send his deepest thanks to all those who supported him.
