“Among the staff, there is now an atmosphere of anxiety, hypervigilance and worry. The trust in the leadership…has completely collapsed…staff are once again feeling demoralised, ignored, distrusted and exhausted…in this toxic environment” – GMB letter to new TSSA general secretary

Maryam Eslamdoust

TSSA general secretary Maryam Eslamdoust has been rocked by new allegations of bullying in the union after a letter from the GMB union – which represents TSSA staff – leaked to the media.

Eslamdoust was elected last year in what many considered an unfair election, after the TSSA executive asked union members to vote for her despite her being an outsider and two other experienced union candidates being in the frame – and despite Eslamdoust’s lack of relevant experience and a union background, which she attacked Skwawkbox for scrutinising. Eslamdoust had claimed in her campaign to be ‘an exceptional trade union professional’ with ‘high level trade union experience’ – yet her Linkedin profile indicated that she had never worked for a union or in an elected union role.

The election took place after former TSSA boss Manuel Cortes was removed over allegations of sexual harassment and bullying by him and other senior TSSA figures.

Now she has been accused, in a letter from GMB’s London organiser Andrew Harden, of presiding over a ‘toxic’ culture that has made staff fearful and led to them constantly looking over their shoulder:

Among the staff, there is now an atmosphere of anxiety, hypervigilance and worry. The trust in the leadership that was burgeoning has completely collapsed and in general, staff are once again feeling demoralised, ignored, distrusted and exhausted from the pressures and strains of working in this…toxic environment.

Harden’s letter also accuses Eslamdoust of ‘abject’ failure to put anti-bullying procedures into practice after the recommendations made by Baroness Kennedy, whose damning report toppled Cortes. The union told the press that all recommendations ‘have been completed or are being acted on’.

The letter was published in full by former assistant TSSA general secretary Steve Coe, who described the developments as ‘worrying’ and linked it to the union’s decision to disband a key women’s group:

Worrying developments at TSSA. This follows the Executive's decision to disband TSSA Women in Focus, the group that called for the reports that exposed wrongdoing and abuse of power by past senior officials. pic.twitter.com/r7k1j8zzZZ

— Steve Coe (@stevecoe1057) January 20, 2024

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