Graham Goddard: 1957-2009
19 October 2009
It is with immense sadness that I write to inform you that our
joint Deputy General Secretary, Graham Goddard, passed away early
this morning. Many of you will be aware that Graham, who was
51, had been ill for some time.
Graham joined the AEU as an apprentice engineer in Sheffield and
soon became active in the Union. He was employed at
Shardlows, an automotive parts manufacturer. Although this was a
highly organised workplace with an existing mature shop stewards
committee, he was quickly elected Deputy Convenor and then
Convenor.
He became a Regional Officer based in Sheffield, following which
he became Amicus Regional Secretary for Yorkshire and Humberside
and later for the North West. Promoted to Deputy General
Secretary, perhaps Graham's most notable achievement was the
pensions campaign, of which he was at the forefront. Based
upon his own experiences from Sheffield, he played a leading part
in the efforts towards the creation of the Pension Protection Fund
and the Financial Assistance Scheme. It is no exaggeration to
say that thousands of workers and their families will benefit from
Graham's work, now and in the future.
Graham also took over strategic management of the finance
sector. Working with the senior lay leadership he led the
unification of the insurance and banking sectors into a cohesive
group, fit to fight on behalf of our many thousands of members
right across the financial services industry.
More recently, Graham was involved in the detailed negotiations
for the establishment of Unite's constitutional structures, to
create a union that is fit to serve our members’ needs into the
future. Both within and outside Unite he leaves a long
lasting legacy.
I am sure everyone will join with me in extending our most
profound sympathies to Graham's family and in particular his
partner, our colleague, Siobhan and their son Ted.
We have lost a valued colleague and dear friend.
Derek Simpson
Joint General Secretary
