STEVE DAVISON, who passed away last week, was one of the great lay member trade unionists.

Steve called me a few weeks ago to say that he had been diagnosed with inoperable cancer. “Hello mate, I am just calling to say I have been unwell and been in hospital. They have diagnosed with terminal cancer — I need you to contact some people for me!”

He told me he was looking forward to going to this year’s Durham Miners Gala with his Unite branch. He was both optimistic and realistic about his illness.

Steve worked in engineering and was a stalwart member and supporter of the left in the engineering union, AEU and the AEEW.

I first met Steve when I was the deputy general secretary of the Graphical, Paper and Media Union (GPMU) during discussions about merging with Amicus.

Steve was a by then a trade union tutor and chair of the Amicus EC and was proud of the merger (or transfer of engagement) of GPMU and Unifi into Amicus.

When he addressed the GPMU EC after our members have voted to merge into Amicus and after some hard bargaining he opened by saying: “Thanks for inviting me to meet with you — and thanks for letting us join your union!” We were firm comrades from then on.

Besides supporting the creation on Unite through the merger of Amicus and TGWU Steve was instrumental in creating the independent global union Workers Uniting with the United Steelworkers in the USA and Canada.

He helped set up the first joint meetings of lay union reps from the USW in papermaking and packaging, in the oil and chemicals sector, in steel and in healthcare as well as helping set up joint reps training on health & safety and equalities.

He had vision and drive, saw the need for union mergers to avoid competition for members and the need for strong international solidarity and lay member links with other unions.

He was instrumental through Workers Uniting in helping workers in Bangladesh in the ship-breaking industry in organising union meetings and meetings with local politicians and British representatives in the country.

Steve called to say he needed funds to take out adverts calling for workers’ meetings in local newspapers in differing languages and could we get some Unite branches to agree to cover the cost. They did! Those meetings were packed and Steve helped get exploited and badly treated ship breaking workers many of them young people working together.

He was also a great help in setting up Unite and USW officials exchange working in Britain, Ireland, Canada and the USA in common industries. He also supported the Mexican metal and mining union Los Mineros joining Workers Uniting.

Steve also tutored thousands of union lay members in trade union studies courses and every year he hosted a visit to Yorkshire by Norwegian trade union reps for a week discussing British and European employment law, political issues, British union structures and policies, all the time building solidarity and life-long links.

Steve was a true internationalist and a dedicated lay trade union activist, a trades council officer, Labour Party activist, anti-fascist and anti-racist, an educator, a deep political thinker and a good mate.

RIP comrade. Sincere condolences to Diane and Steve’s family.