LEADING rank-and-file trade union activist Linda Kietz died on December 17. 

Doing justice to her varied and committed life is a difficult job and her death leaves a big space in the movement. 

It was a death that saw a wave of condolences from many parts of society, symbolised by a Turkish music group giving a concert and devoting that evening to Kietz’s memory.

Kietz was born in Arbroath, Scotland, in 1950, daughter of Margaret and Arthur with an elder brother, Michael. 

When she was in her mid-teens she and her family moved to London where her father had been transferred as a civil servant. 

This led to Kietz developing her love for rock music as she visited London clubs and concerts. 

Kietz was married twice — first to David Payne with whom she had two daughters, Philippa (1977) and Sophie (1979), then to Ron Kietz in 1985, with whom she had daughter Andrea (1985) and son Francis (1986). 

She divorced in 1995 and then found partner Mick Houghton in 1996 with whom she lived until her death.

Her main work was in telecoms and she became a union rep as a night shift telephone operator. 

When operator services were moved out of London she transferred to clerical work in Westminster and then Ealing. After the secretary of the west London clerical branch of the National Communications Union (now the Communication Workers Union) took voluntary redundancy she stepped into his shoes. 

The clerical branch merged with the NCU engineering branches in the area and this is where she first worked alongside Houghton, among others. 

Kietz became chair of the branch and later Houghton became secretary. This strong personal and trade union partnership was a firm anchor in the London movement.

Kietz was involved in many aspects of the CWU outside of branch activities, becoming assistant regional secretary of CWU London, elected to the national women’s advisory committee and LGBT advisory committee, secretary of the London region women’s committee, secretary of the Communication Workers Broad Left, CWU member of London Trade Union and Labour Party Liaison Organisation, and employment tribunal panellist. 

Kietz was also involved in the wider movement, being the assistant secretary of Ealing Trades Council, president of the Greater London Association of Trade Union Councils, joint chair of London May Day, executive member of Sertuc, representative for the south-east on the TUC joint consultative committee, Labour activist and candidate for her local council ward, member of the management committee of the West London Trades Union Club, on the management committee of the Mary McArthur Trust, and school governor and member of the exclusions panel for the borough of Hammersmith. 

She served on a number of Sertuc committees, including the women’s rights and international committees. 

Kietz was never a simple place-holder — in every role she was a strong and consistent voice for workers.

She was a firm advocate for equalities in society. She was a strong supporter of LGBT campaigns in GLATUC, Sertuc and the CWU. 

She fought for migrant workers’ rights. In her role as GLATUC president she was active in solidarity work with capital city trade unions across Europe and the regard in which she was held was reflected in messages on her death from capitals including Copenhagen, Dublin, Paris, Athens, Rome, Oslo, Helsinki and Madrid. 

She also supported workers in struggle across the world including in Palestine, Colombia and Turkey.

Kietz was a very modest working-class activist, proud of her Scottish heritage. She was someone who stuck to principled positions and convinced others through her inner strength, determination and honesty.  

She suffered health problems in recent years but refused to allow them to stop her wide range of activities in support of her class. 

She also never lost her enthusiasm for hard rock, attending concerts regularly. She lived life to the full.

We have lost one of those whose hard work make the trade union movement strong, was a powerful woman’s voice and a class fighter to the end.

ROGER SUTTON 

and MICK HOUGHTON