
Colin Anderson.
Born on July 3rd 1952 and a life-long Communist, Colin Anderson worked at the National Savings branch in Cowglen Glasgow for more than 30 years. He held virtually every lay position there was at branch and departmental level in the Civil and Public Servants Association from the early 1970s and was a member of the union’s national conference Standing Orders Committee.
On being promoted within the civil service, he took up activity in the union that then existed for higher grades, the National Union of Civil and Public Servants (NUCPS). When CPSA and NUCPS later merged to form Public and Commerical Services (PCS) union, he continued his involvement in the new all-grades body as a negotiator for the National Saving Agency. Representing over 4,000 members, Colin Anderson was responsible for the communications strategy of PCS in its long-running campaign against privatisation.
He was also Chair of the Glasgow Anti-Apartheid Movement, helped organise the “Free Mandela at 70” campaign which organised a Glasgow to London march at a rally of 30,000 people in Glasgow Green in 1988 and many events subsequently relating to progressive developments in South Africa. He later became Vice-Chair of Action for Southern Africa, the campaign body that succeeded the AAM, following the end of apartheid.
After an accident in 1989, Colin lost a leg and became involved in trade union disability rights issues; he was a member of the TUC’s Disability Forum and represented the Scottish TUC on the Employment Services Agency’s Disability Advisory Committee.
A long-time supporter of the Straight Left group in the Communist Party of Great Britain, Colin Anderson continued to be associated with the trend after the dissolution of that party. He died on January 9th 1999, leaving a partner, Diane, and a daughter, Sophie.
Source: `Straight Left’ March 1999
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