Ex-Unison rep may sue his own union

Aug 1 2010 by Roberth Weatherall, Sunday Sun

A MENTAL health nurse unfairly sacked by his bosses is considering taking legal action against his former union.

Yunus Bakhsh won a tribunal against the Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust after he was sacked over his trade union activity.

Although he was a long-standing member of Unison - and acted as a trade union representative - he says he did not get the backing he expected from officials.

Yunus financed his legal battle from his own pocket.

The donations of well wishers who backed his bid for compensation also helped him fund the tribunal battle.

Now, having won his legal fight, he is consulting lawyers to establish whether he can take action against his former union.

Yunus said: "I have a meeting with my lawyer on Monday to discuss this.

"I don’t want to reveal too much detail but we will be looking into whether we can take legal action."

Last week an employment tribunal ruled in Yunus’ favour following a three-year legal battle.

Yunus had been suspended from his post as a mental health nurse in September 2006 and was sacked from the job in June 2008 at an internal hearing.

The tribunal panel decided that Yunus had been discriminated against on the grounds of disability and his trade union membership.

Yunus, 49, from Gateshead, claimed: "I have had a number of people within Unison saying they would like a review of why the union failed to support me.

"They find it worrying that someone who worked for them for so long was not supported."