Roger Poole

Roger Poole (11 July 19463 July 2015) was a British trade union official and mediator. After a variety of early jobs he worked for the National Union of Public Employees (NUPE), including during the disputes of the 1978-9 Winter of Discontent. Poole represented five unions during the 1989–90 British ambulance strike and won a 16.9% pay settlement, a rare victory in the Thatcher era. He afterwards negotiated a merger with the National and Local Government Officers' Association and the Confederation of Health Service Employees to form Unison, for which he served as assistant general secretary. After retirement from the unions Poole served on the Northern Ireland Parades Commission and mediated in industrial disputes. He was also a visiting lecturer at Warwick University.

Early life Roger Poole was born in Bristol on 11 July 1946 to Lillian and Samuel Poole; his father was a decorator and trade unionist.

Union official Upon his return to the United Kingdom Poole became an official for the National Union of Public Employees (NUPE), a trade union with members drawn largely from manual workers in the health service and local government. Poole became an assistant general secretary of the union which was embroiled in industrial disputes during the 1978-9 Winter of Discontent. The union action was unpopular and the Labour government was defeated at the 1979 general election by Margaret Thatcher's Conservatives. His "moderate, confident, bright and committed" demeanour at negotiations and press conferences brought public support behind the strike. He also adjudicated during an internal Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen dispute which had flared up into a brawl among its leaders at a union barbeque. Poole also worked as a visiting lecturer at Warwick University.

Personal life Roger and Bernice Poole had one son, Jason, and a daughter, Jessica. He was a lifelong follower of the football club, Bristol Rovers. Poole died on 3 July 2015 in Droitwich, of colon cancer.