‘MANY TEACHERS WILL BE THANKFUL FOR HIS FIGHT FOR THEIR JOBS’
Tributes after death of former union leader
A FORMER Staffordshire union leader who represented thousands of teachers across the county has died at the age of 83.
Friends and colleagues have described Phil Horton as a quietly spoken yet incredibly effective negotiator, who helped champion the workplace rights of classroom teachers.
It was while teaching woodwork and technical drawing at Walton High, in Stafford, that he got his first taste of life as a union rep in the 1980s.
Phil rose through the ranks to become the NASUWT’S county federation secretary, and then its national executive member for Staffordshire.
His skills became crucial when the county’s schools were hit by falling pupil rolls in the early 1990s, which brought the spectre of job losses.
Former Leek teacher and education official Mike Inman, who also had a spell as national executive member, said: “He represented many members in schools at local reorganisation meetings very effectively, so that compulsory redundancies were avoided.
“His persistence and inscrutable manner in negotiations made it difficult for those opposite to ascertain what he was thinking, or to anticipate his next negotiation tactic.”
Phil was also heavily involved in the scouting movement and served as district commissioner for the Stafford area.
When he retired, he concentrated on his other passion – sailing. He even built his own boat in his back garden in Stafford, which he would sail at Rudyard Lake.
Eventually, Phil acquired a much larger boat, which he moored at Caernarfon in North Wales, where he was then living.
He later became commodore of the Royal Welsh Yacht Club and would sail his boat ‘Annarchy’ as far afield as France, the Channel Islands and the Scilly Isles.
He moved back to Stafford when his partner began to have health problems, and they lived in supported accommodation.
Richard Hinton, former Staffordshire secretary, said: “He will be very much missed by the NASUWT members throughout the county.
“Many of them will be thankful to him for his fight for their jobs and rights.
“He belonged to an era where service to others was more important than personal advancement.”