Gary smith gmb biography of mahatma

Scottish trade union leader

Gary Smith (born 1965) is a Scottish trade union leader.

Born in Edinburgh,^[1] Smith completed an apprenticeship as a gas fitter, joining the GMB at the age of 16. He became a shop steward and when he was 26 the union paid for him to study at Ruskin College, which he followed with a master's degree in industrial relations from Warwick University.^[2][3]

After completing his education, Smith returned to working in the gas industry, and to trade union activism. He began working full-time for the union, as Recruitment Officer, then as a Senior Organiser, National Officer, and then as National Secretary for Commercial Services. In 2015, he became the union's Scotland Secretary.^[2] In this role, he was frequently critical of the Scottish National Party government.^[4] A supporter of Keir Starmer's leadership of the Labour Party, he opposed Richard Leonard's efforts to remain Gary Smith elected new GMB general secretary | Morning Star.