Latest post on Left Futures

UCATT General Secretary forced to step down

UCATT general secretary, Alan Ritchie, has been ordered by the Certification Officer for Trade Unions to step down as leader of construction’s biggest union after his election in 2009 was declared void. UCATT has been ordered to conduct a re-run of that leadership race following a long campaign by his defeated rival, Mick Dooley. The election was declared void after it was found UCATT sent ballot papers to only 56,867 members – less than half of its claimed 130,000 membership. The turnout was still lower, with Ritchie defeating Dooley by 6,706 votes to 4,431.

Since launching his complaint against the election, Dooley, a full time officer in London region, is reported to been involved in constant disputes with the UCATT leadership and was sacked by the union earlier this year.

Certification officer David Cockburn is quoted by Construction Enquirer as saying:

In my judgement the election was so flawed as to be a nullity.”

In an earlier preliminary hearing, the Certification Officer had dismissed Mr Dooley’s complaints as being out of time, but in the final judgement, some of the key complaints were upheld and he made an enforcement order that

the UCATT 2009 General Secretary election be treated as void and that Mr Ritchie shall forthwith cease to hold office as General Secretary.”

Undoubtedly there will be support for a challenge to Mr Ritchie, such as from those involved in the website Builders United, and Mr Dooley may therefore be expected to stand. Given the circumstances, further arguments about procedure are a possibility!

2 Comments

  1. Peter says:

    I think its disgraceful of what Mick Dooley has did in order to attempt to get his foot in the door. He took the union to court over laws that were brought in while Margret Thatcher was in power.. effectively using anti trade union laws. I am disgusted as a union member that someone would go to this level.

    Mick Dooley has been sacked for fraud. He falsified forms and said they were people he recruited as members when these individuals did not exist. It makes me sick what he has did to UCATT. And anyone who can’t see it is blind. Mr Ritchie has lost his position due to anti trade union laws and the rule book not clearly stating that individuals who were 26 weeks in arrears were excluded. Mr Dooley took the UNION to court over this and has won.

    VOTE RITCHIE

  2. Bill says:

    Mick Dooley did not use the Tory anti trade union law’s
    our New Labour Party had three terms in office and chose not too remove these anti trade union law’s, so effectively these LAW’S became Labour law not Tory law.
    If you think you can monitor a membership that is always on the move from site to site and company to company. Then Peter maybe you should become an official?. But if you have rogue workers giving duff forms to get rid of you. Then will this make make you a fraudster? I think not.

© 2024 Left Futures | Powered by WordPress | theme originated from PrimePress by Ravi Varma