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Union official in racism row over 'wise monkeys'
Amar Singh17.06.08
A union activist was branded a racist for producing a leaflet with an image of the Three Wise Monkeys proverb.
Onay Kasab, secretary of Greenwich Unison, is one of four branch officers facing a disciplinary hearing after handing out the pamphlet at last June's conference for the union, which represents more than a million public sector workers.
The four say the leaflet used the image of the "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil" monkeys to lampoon the committee for removing important issues from the agenda. But union bosses said the image was a "racist" slur aimed at one black committee member.
Mr Kasab, 40, from Bexley, said: "It's upsetting that I am accused of racism by my own union. We felt it was an apt image to illustrate our point that the committee were refusing to listen to members' concerns over issues such as the funding of the Labour Party, the election of full time officials and control over strike action.
"But in the conference hall the Unison president denounced it as racist and when we went to respond the microphone was switched off. We have been gagged and subjected to a witch hunt.
"I have dedicated a lot of my life to representing Unison members in Greenwich from all backgrounds. I led a 13-week strike against the civil service over the employment of a senior BNP activist. I am Turkish-Cypriot and have faced racism so to be accused of being something I despise is terrible."
The three other members under investigation are Glenn Kelly, secretary of Bromley Unison, Suzanne Muna, secretary of the Housing Corporation Unison branch, and Brian Debus, chairman of Hackney Unison. All are also in the Socialist Party. Matthew Waterfall, who is not a member of the Socialist Party, was investigated but not charged.
"The fact they cleared Mr Waterfall shows that this is motivated by the New Labour supporters in Unison against the Socialist Party," said Mr Kasab.
Messages of support for the four have come from comedians Rory Bremner and Mark Thomas and thousands of members signed a petition at the Unison conference in Bournemouth this week.
Mr Kasab said: "We are saying to all members who support us - don't leave the union in protest. This is our union and we will stay and fight."
A disciplinary hearing has been suspended until after the conference. A Unison spokeswoman said: "As this is an ongoing investigation, we abide by our rules of confidentiality."
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Reader views (8)
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With all due respect, it is the committee members themselves who are the "racists" by associating the monkeys with black committee members.
- John, London
I do not support any union but this looks like a stitch up to remove someone who is not conforming with the party line
- Dave, Croydon
The source that popularized this pictorial maxim is a 17th century carving over a door of the famous Tosho-gu shrine in Nikko, Japan. The maxim, however, probably originally came to Japan with a Tendai-Buddhist legend, possibly from India via China in the 8th century (Yamato Period. Mahatma Ghandi's one notable exception to his lifestyle of non-possession was a small statue of the three monkeys. Today, a larger representation of the three monkeys is prominently displayed at the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, where Gandhi lived from 1915-1930 and from where he departed on his famous salt march. It is the union bosses who are racist and ignorant of classical literature, otherwise why should this spring immediately to their minds.
- Pat, Essex
