In memoriam: Mike Grindley, 1937-2023
Prospect is saddened to learn of the passing of Mike Grindley, who led a high-profile campaign in the 1980s against the Thatcher government’s ban on trade unions at the GCHQ intelligence agency.
Mike was one of 14 defiant trade union members at GCHQ who refused to give up their union membership when the ban took effect in March 1984. He continued his work at GCHQ as a Chinese linguist until his sacking in 1988 for defying the ban.
His subsequent battle became one of the longest running campaigns in British trade union history, and finally proved successful when Labour reinstated the GCHQ unions in 1997.
Talking to the TUC a few years ago about his heroic campaign, Mike said:
“I was at my union conference in Blackpool when Labour announced the ban had been lifted in 1997. We went out for a big Chinese meal and there was lots of shouting and cheering.”
A member of the PCS predecessor unions, Mike was 85 years old when he passed away on 1 January, 2023.
Robin Smith, who would subsequently become a full-time officer for Prospect, worked at GCHQ through that period too, and was a member of IPCS, one of the unions who would later become Prospect.
Here Robin reflects on the lengthy battle for trade union rights at GCHQ and pays personal tribute to his friend and colleague.
“It is really sad to hear that Mike has passed away. I first got to know him when the dust settled after the union ban took effect in March 1984 and I found that he was one of those who had refused to accept the government’s diktat. He was utterly determined and his resolve to see things through was total.
When the remaining members started to use annual leave to go to conferences and speak at meetings up and down the country, he was one of the first to volunteer.
In September of 1984 I went with Mike and a couple of others to the TUC in Brighton. Of course, 1984 was the year of the miners’ strike and that was the labour issue that was getting all the headlines, but Mike was absolutely determined to ensure that our cause was not forgotten and he spent the week collaring trade union general secretaries and presidents and anyone else who would listen to remind them that we were still around.
This was vital in ensuring that the first anniversary march and rally in January 1985 in Cheltenham attracted thousands. But he wasn’t just interested in the GCHQ issue; he had a strong sense of solidarity and helped initiate and develop contacts with other campaigns including the Silentnight workers, journalists at the Pergamon Press, as well as the striking miners.
When the 1987 general election result determined that an early resolution was unlikely, the Chair of GCHQ Trade Unions became vacant. Mike didn’t seek the nomination, but he was the natural choice and he served for the next 10 years until the Labour government restored the right to trade union membership as one of its first acts in 1997.
He was a reluctant public speaker at first but his speeches to the annual rallies in Cheltenham were legendary. And, on top of all this, he was always great company, with an impish sense of humour.”