Accountant's report tells of Swi bank accounts, property deals and wine bills SUNDAY ENATSOR

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FANY N*TA

PRICE CRos: NATSOPA NATSOPA members march against Times closure threat NOT AT £255,000 in two separate deals.

But on each occasion, on the same day that she signed the contract to buy, Ms Dawes signed separate contracts to sell the properties to other companies for more.

The total she received was £338,000 which is £83,000 more than she had paid to the union.

Higher prices

This was not simple misjudgement on the part of the union leaders. In both cases the eventual buyers had offered to buy direct from the union at the same higher prices that Ms Dawes received.

Nor did Ms Dawes keep the money for herself.

She paid £78,775 into a trust, which in turn paid it to Joan Wing, a national officer of NATSOPA-who just happened to be the common law wife of Lord Briginshaw.

She, (Wing), made out personal cheques to Briginshaw, Arthur Davies, assistant secretary and Alf Skinner, the union's financial secretary.

£80,000 lost To sum up this slightly bewildering deal, the union lost more than £80,000 through not selling directly to the eventual buyers-and the vast majority of that money was channeled back into the private bank accounts of union officers!

Briginshaw told the accountants that this was a move to create a 'shadow' union with separate funds in case NATSOPA's assets were seized under the Industrial Relations Act.

If this interesting explaNATSOP NAP = THE Rest or nation is true it is a pity that neither the then President, Lloyd nor the special committee set up to investigate the possibility of forming a shadow union was infotmed.

Swiss banks.

Over a number of years almost £16,000 was paid into two • Swiss bank accounts. When it was brought back to Britain (in suitcases in cash!) it should have shown a profit of £4,844 due to the higher value of the Swiss franc.

Only £1,102 can be traced as having gone back to NATSOPA as an 'anonymous donation' The rest, according to Briginshaw, was used to pay the Swiss agent and "political and trade union purposes" • He said they had been considering opening convalescent home in Switzerland!

Nothing of this was authorised by the executive council and none of the other cash has been traced.

Union officials Officials' salaries were kept secret from the members. The Observer machine room 1 chapel officers discovered that O'Brien earned just under £12,000 a year. His expenses bill for only two months was £1,300.

Between them, union officials claimed £3,000 expenses in January 1978.

This included a £117 wine bill and trips to Malta, including one for O Brien and his wife.

Giving what appears to be the standard NATSOPA explanation for foreign travel, O'Brien said the union was thinking of openAr NẶP - THE NATSOPA NEWSPAp CRIMIMA VAP a 1H Rene NEWSPAPERS Race or tA Ar **SPASERS ATSOPA ing four convalescent in Malta.

Skinner, who had by this time (1978) retired, still appeared to be on the payroll. O'Brien receives a union car and a car allowance.

Wine and restaurant bills were paid (six bottles at £12 a bottle). Bills were claimed from the Savoy, De Quincey's and Simpsons in the Strand (more convalescent homes?)

THI 4.kin APERS MATn' NATSOPA OT ALSOPA MAGE INATSOPA Hussey GoEs, NATSO PI NATSOPA NoT AT then left empty by the fund and then sold at a loss.

The result: well satisfied officials.

The pensions for officials are made up of 5% from their salary topped up by 19% from the fund. Briginshaw gets a pension of £400 a month, inflation proofed.

Examined books

Skinner received a f.22 O00 oniden handshake when he retired.

None of this would have been revealed but for the determination of the NATSOPA machine chapel officers at the Observer.

According to the New Statesman account, they made several visits to the union HQ demanding their rights under rule to examine the books, until finally banned by O 'Brien.

No doubt it was their frustration and anger at this move that led them to take the union to court last year in a case which gave them the right to call in accountants.

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NOT AT ANy ANy .. PRICE occasion the property was