About: Roger Poole

Roger Poole (11 July 1946 – 3 July 2015) was a British trade union official and mediator. After a variety of early jobs he worked for the National Union of Public Employees (NUPE), including during the disputes of the 1978-9 Winter of Discontent. Poole represented five unions during the 1989–90 British ambulance strike and won a 16.9% pay settlement, a rare victory in the Thatcher era. He afterwards negotiated a merger with the National and Local Government Officers' Association and the Confederation of Health Service Employees to form Unison, for which he served as assistant general secretary. After retirement from the unions Poole served on the Northern Ireland Parades Commission and mediated in industrial disputes. He was also a visiting lecturer at Warwick University.