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Unite the Union boss, Derek Simpson, has landed himself in hot water over tweeting confidential details of his negotiations with British Airways.

He was attempting to keep people up to date with progress of the negotiations via his twitter account, but tweets including "Arguments over the eight sacked workers," and "Fear of more sackings to come", have led BA bosses and many other industry experts to question Simpson’s credibility and focus on the job at hand.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/10145993.stm

While he has since apologised, with relations already strained between the two parties, the damage has been done and could prove costly for Simpson’s negotiating team.

The question of whether he should have been tweeting confidential information while involved in serious business negotiations raise a number of issues. When in a meeting – particularly one where high level discussions are taking place – your attention should be focused on the meeting, not on checking your email or updating a twitter account.

No doubt many of us have used a quiet moment in a meeting to surreptitiously check for emails or messages, but when you’re supposed to be heading the negotiations, perhaps you should wait until the meeting’s adjourned.

Twitter has seen an exponential growth in popularity since its launch in 2006. No longer just a channel for Z list celebs to post details of their latest exploits, it’s fast becoming a tool for businesses and politicians to broadcast updates, alongside the web, email and other social media.

Simpson isn’t the first person to be caught out by an indiscreet use of Twitter. He joins a growing list of people whose ill judged tweets have cost them dear.

Only last month, a Labour candidate was forced to step down following a series of tweets calling his constituents ‘chavs’ and ‘coffin dodgers’, while a member of the public, frustrated by the closure of his local airport during the heavy snow in January, posted a tweet threatening to blow up the airport. His subsequent protestations that it was only a joke did not cut any mustard with the judge who fined him £385 for sending a menacing electronic communication. If that wasn’t enough, he was also sacked from his job as an accountant.

Undoubtedly, Derek Simpsons’ original intention to keep his members up to date on news from the negotiations was laudable, but perhaps next time, he’ll think twice before he tweets. You never know who might be listening.

© Amatica 01/06/2010