SCOTLAND: ANDY HOGG: 30 APRIL 1961 - 9 MARCH 2025

HONORARY LIFE MEMBER, EX-ASSISTANT GENERAL SECRETARY

ANDY HOGG: 30 APRIL 1961 - 9 MARCH 2025

For those of you who didn’t know Andy Hogg, he was the FTO in Scotland for more than a decade before his retirement, and a member of the SPOA NEC prior to the merger. He was the Trade Union Side secretary in between those roles, and a significant figure in the development of industrial relations in Scotland, which I will come to shortly. For those of us who did know Andy, we are the fortunate ones. And if you truly did know him, you already know why.

SOME ACHIEVEMENTS

Andy Hogg is quite simply one of the nicest people any of us have known in life, who was universally liked and loved, and nobody has a bad word to say about him. Given the environment in which he operated for so many years, that is no mean feat, and a true testament to just how highly regarded he is by so many.

I have been incredibly fortunate to have followed similar paths with Andy for more than 30 years in our involvement with the trade union, and we have worked together at the same table for many of those years. The most important of those for me were when he was the FTO in Scotland and I was the Scottish Chair. We moved from being colleagues to very close friends immediately, and stayed so, right up until his passing. In that time, Andy’s contribution is headlined around achievements such as prison officers getting their right to strike back in Scotland, helping make the argument to bring the privately run HMP Kilmarnock into the public sector, and helping secure the biggest three-year pay deal in the UK, just before his retirement.

PARTNERSHIP WORKING

He was also hugely instrumental in reshaping what, at the time, were utterly dreadful industrial relations in the Scottish prison service in the 1990s into an entirely different environment of inclusion and partnership working that is the envy of many across the trade union movements, both here and abroad.

The partnership we have in the service now is one we simply take for granted, given that it has been in place for almost a quarter of a century now – but it would never have got off the ground at all but for the enormous, defining contributions from people such as Andy Hogg. His people skills, his diplomacy and tact when dealing with the different audiences in the early days are legendary, and he stopped many a fire before they even got started, such was his ability to have people talk, and listen, when it was the last thing they felt like doing.

CONSUMMATE PROFESSIONAL AND GENTLEMAN

As much as he was just a lovely guy who people warmed to instinctively, he was also incredibly smart politically. His judgement and reading of a situation were always accurate and instinctive. He knew what was needed and he knew what was going to make matters worse instead of better, very often intervening and diverting an oncoming battle that he anticipated by his charm, his wit, but also his honesty and integrity. People trusted and respected Andy, and he earned that over many years of his dealing with people.

He understood the mantra of always seeking a win/win outcome. Not just to resolve the current situation, but how important that was to the future challenges and negotiations to come, and that people entered into those without an axe to grind or feeling they needed the win this time.

In my time as Chair, I watched Andy operate an open, revolving-door policy for colleagues and managers alike, never turning anyone away or not finding time for them. He was often sought out for his calm wisdom or wise counsel, and he never played games with people, or exploited their situation when they opened up to him.

I have shared many a platform, a meeting, a march or a battle with Andy over the years. On each and every occasion he was the consummate professional, who planned and prepared properly, who treated everyone with respect, and who enhanced the POA reputation no matter where he went in our name. It was always a privilege and an honour to be with him on these occasions.

His integrity was unquestionable, but so was his commitment, his loyalty, and his passion for doing what he believed was right for the membership of the POA.

LEGACY

All of the members in Scotland owe Andy Hogg an enormous debt for his contribution over three decades and they have had some significant wins that he, in part at least, has played a central role in achieving. He has a legacy that is the measure of anyone in the POA, and we are very proud to have been a part of that journey with him.

Much more than that though, Andy Hogg has made a wonderful lasting impression on people for just simply being Andy. A warm, funny, intelligent, lovable, cheeky and happy guy, who adored his wife, Angela, and his two girls, Emma and Sophie, around whom his life was centred.

For those of us lucky enough to have been able to share such a close bond and friendship with him over all those years, it has been a genuine pleasure that I will forever be grateful for, smiles, laughter and love.

The messages of condolences we received from members, managers, other trade unions and uniformed services, all expressing their deep sadness at Andy’s passing, said so much about how well liked and respected he was. On the day of his funeral, there were as many people outside the crematorium as in, as well as many others watching his service online. This was such a comfort to his family, but no less than we expected, given what we know of Andy as a person.

Rest in peace, Andy. By your counsel and example, you taught many in the POA how to be good trade unionists, but simply by being yourself, you taught the rest of us how to be good human beings.

PHIL FAIRLIE
ASSISTANT GENERAL SECRETARY, SCOTLAND
AND ANDY’S PAL