Bill Morris, Baron Morris of Handsworth

Bill Morris, Baron Morris of Handsworth

William "Bill" Manuel Morris, Baron Morris of Handsworth Kt OJ DL (* 19th October 1938 in Manchester Parish , Jamaica ) is a native of Jamaica British union functionary and politician of the Labor Party , which since 2006 as a Life Peer member of the House of Lords is.

Life

Promotion to General Secretary of the TGWU

Morris immigrated to Great Britain from Jamaica in 1954 and began his professional career with Hardy Spicers in 1955. In 1958 he became a member of the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU) and worked as a department store employee from 1963. After he was a member of the main executive council of the TGWU from 1971 to 1972, he began his full-time activity as a trade union official at the TGWU in 1973 and was initially between 1973 and 1973 as a district organizer in Nottingham and Derby . He was then District Secretary for Nottingham until 1979 and then National Secretary for Passenger Transport, Services and Commerce from 1979 to 1986.

In addition, he was a member of the Commission for Racial Equality from 1977 to 1987. After he was a member of the main advisory board of the independent broadcasting authority IBA (Independent Broadcasting Authority) from 1981 to 1986, Morris served as a member of the main advisory board of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) from 1987 to 1988 .

In 1986 he succeeded Alec Kitson as deputy general secretary of the TGWU and held this position until his replacement by Jack Adams in 1991. He then succeeded Ron Todd as general secretary of the TGWU in 1991 and held this position for twelve years until his replacement by Tony Woodley in 2003. He became the first black man to chair a union in Great Britain.

He also served as a member of the Prince of Wales Youth Business Trust between 1987 and 1999 .

President of the TUC and other involvement

During this time he was also a member of the Executive Board of the International Transport Workers' Federation from 1986 to 2003 and a member of the General Council and Executive Committee of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), the umbrella organization of the British trade unions, from 1988 to 2003 and a member of the Council from 1997 to 2003 of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas).

In addition, Morris was a member of the Employment Appeals Tribunal between 1988 and 2009 and a member of the European Economic and Social Committee between 1990 and 1992 and a member of the Board of Directors of the Bank of England from 1998 to 2006 .

After the Labor Party won the general election on May 1, 1997 , he became a member of the working group on the New Deal policy of the new government of Prime Minister Tony Blair and, in 1999, was also a member of the Royal Commission for the Reform of the House of Lords. He was also a member of the Integrated Transport Commission between 1999 and 2005.

Between 2000 and 2001, Morris succeeded Rita Donaghy as President of the TUC, then passed that position on to Tony Young , a union official for the Communication Workers Union .

University Chancellor and Member of the House of Lords

Furthermore, Morris, who was ennobled as a Knight Bachelor in 2003 and henceforth the suffix “Sir”, was Chancellor of the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech) between 2000 and 2010 and also acted as a member of the Architects Registration Committee from 2001 and 2005 Board ).

By a letters patent dated June 7, 2006, Morris, who was Chancellor of Staffordshire University from 2004 to 2011 and has also been a member of the Round Table on Mergers and Acquisitions since 2005, became Baron Morris of Handsworth , of Handsworth in the County of West Midlands , raised to life peer. Shortly thereafter took place on 13 June 2006 its introduction ( Introduction ) as a member of the House of Lords . In the House of Lords he belongs to the Labor Party faction .

Lord Morris has also served on the board of directors of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) since 2004 and chairman of the Midland Heart Housing Association since 2007 and was also vice chairman of Jamaica National Money Services from 2007 to 2012. Since 2008 he has also been Trustee of Performances Birmingham Ltd and Deputy Lieutenant of Staffordshire .

Honors

During his career as a trade unionist and politician, Morris has received multiple awards and honorary doctorates from London South Bank University , The Open University , Leeds Metropolitan University , University of Westminster , University of Greenwich , Teesside University , Thames Valley University , University College of Northampton , Staffordshire University , Middlesex University , University of Warwick , University of Birmingham , University of Luton , University of Technology, Jamaica, University of Nottingham and the University of Hull .

Morris, who is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the City and Guilds of London Institute , was awarded the Order of Jamaica in 2002.

Web links

• Entry on Parliament's homepage (accessed on 23 November 2012)
• Entry in They Work For You (accessed November 23, 2012)
• Biography in Debrett's (accessed November 23, 2012)