Roy Lyon Evans (13 August 1931 – 3 December 2015) was a British

trade unionist A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

. Born in

Pontarddulais Pontarddulais (), also spelled Pontardulais (), is a town and community in Swansea, Wales. It is northwest of the city centre. It is in the Pontarddulais ward of the City and County of Swansea Council. Pontarddulais adjoins the village of Hend ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, Evans' first years were spent speaking only

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

. His father died when he was seven years old, after which he and his mother moved to

Gorseinon Gorseinon is a town within the City and County of Swansea, Wales, near the Loughor estuary. It was a small village until the late 19th century, when it grew around the coal mining and tinplate industries. It is around north west of Swansea Ci ...

. He was educated at

Gowerton Grammar School Gowerton ( ) is a large village and community, about northwest of Swansea city centre, Wales. Gowerton is often known as the gateway to the Gower Peninsula. Gowerton's original name was Ffosfelin. The village falls within the Gowerton electora ...

, leaving at the age of sixteen to work in a tin mill.Roy Evans, trade union leader - obituary
, ''

Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...

'', 28 December 2015 Evans completed

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

and joined both the Labour Party and the

Iron and Steel Trades Confederation The Iron and Steel Trades Confederation (ISTC) was a British trade union for metal-workers and allied groups, being the largest union in these fields. It was formed on 1 January 1917 as a merger of existing steel-workers' unions and it is now pa ...

(ISTC). In 1963, he was appointed as the full-time North West regional organiser, moving to cover West Wales before he was appointed as Deputy General Secretary in 1973, then Assistant General Secretary in 1975. He was the leading figure in the union's strike of 1980, which achieved a 16% pay rise for members. The following year, he was elected to the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Labour Party, on which he voted not to back

Peter Tatchell Peter Gary Tatchell (born 25 January 1952) is an Australian-born British human rights campaigner, best known for his work with LGBT social movements. Tatchell was selected as the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party's Parliament of the United Kingdo ...

as a candidate, and opposed the

Militant Tendency The Militant tendency, or Militant, was a Trotskyist group in the British Labour Party, organised around the ''Militant'' newspaper, which launched in 1964. In 1975, there was widespread press coverage of a Labour Party report on the infiltrat ...

. As a result of this and his opposition to the UK miners' strike, he lost his NEC seat in 1984. In 1985, Evans was elected as the union's General Secretary, defeating Keith Jones. He also won election to the

General Council of the Trades Union Congress The General Council of the Trades Union Congress is an elected body which is responsible for carrying out the policies agreed at the annual British Trades Union Congresses (TUC). Organisation The council has 56 members, all of whom must be proposed ...

. He opposed the privatisation of

British Steel Corporation British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and cultur ...

, but felt that industrial action would not prevent it, and so took no action. Retiring in 1993, he described job losses under his leadership as having "decimated" the industry. Evans was made an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

on his retirement, and returned to live in Wales with his wife.Ian Evans,
Roy Evans obituary
, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 16 December 2015

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Roy 1931 births 2015 deaths General secretaries of the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation Labour Party (UK) officials British trade union leaders Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Gowerton Grammar School People from Gorseinon