Neil Joseph Kearney (15 March 1950 – 19 November 2009) was an Irish trade union leader. Born in

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

, Kearney moved to the UK when he was 17 years old, and found work in a bank. He began working for the

National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers The National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers (NUTGW) was a trade union in the United Kingdom. History The union was founded as the Tailors and Garment Workers' Union (T&GWU) in 1920 with the merger of the Scottish Operative Tailors and T ...

in 1972, heading its information and research department for many years. He was also active in the Labour Party, standing in

Epsom and Ewell Epsom and Ewell () is a local government district with borough status in Surrey, England, covering the towns of Epsom and Ewell. The borough lies just outside the administrative boundary of Greater London, but it is entirely within the M25 moto ...

at the

February February is the second month of the year in the Julian calendar, Julian and Gregorian calendars. The month has 28 days in common years and 29 in leap years, with the February 29, 29th day being called the ''leap day''. February is the third a ...

and October 1974 UK general elections, taking third place on each occasion. In 1978, he was elected as a councillor in the

London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (often known by its initialism as RBKC) is an Inner London borough with royal status. It is the smallest borough in London and the second smallest district in England; it is one of the most densel ...

, becoming leader of the opposition. In 1988, Kearney was elected as general secretary of the

International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation The International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation (ITGLWF) was a global union federation. In 2005 it had 217 member organizations in 110 countries, representing a combined membership of over 10 million workers. History The ITGLWF ...

. During his time in office, much work in the industry moved to less developed countries, which affected the federation's finances. Kearney focused on supporting workers in those nations, campaigning to end child labour, and for improved health and safety. He won the Il Natale, La Notta della Vita award in 1998, for his work opposing child labour, and in 1999 he won the Work and Environment Award from the Associazione Ambiente e Lavoro. Kearney also served on the board of the Ethical Trading Initiative, and on the advisory board of the

Social Accountability International Social Accountability 8000 (SA 8000) is an international standard for social accountability management systems. It was developed in 1997 by Social Accountability International, formerly the Council on Economic Priorities Accreditation Agency, by a ...

, where he was heavily involved in developing the

SA8000 Social Accountability 8000 (SA 8000) is an international standard for social accountability management systems. It was developed in 1997 by Social Accountability International, formerly the Council on Economic Priorities Accreditation Agency, by a ...

standard. Kearney visited Bangladesh particularly often, and died there while on a four-day trip in 2009. On his death, three days of mourning were declared in the country's textile and garment industry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kearney, Neil 1950 births 2009 deaths Councillors in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Irish emigrants to the United Kingdom Labour Party (UK) councillors Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Trade unionists from County Donegal