The former leader of construction union Ucatt plans to stand for re-election after being stripped of office following a voting scandal.
Alan Ritchie was forced to stand down as general secretary of the union earlier this year after an investigation by the Certification Officer (CO), a government appointed ombudsman, found that his 2009 election victory was “flawed” due to voting irregularities.
Ritchie is one of four candidates planning to contest the leadership election which begins next month (November).
The other contenders for the £96,000 a year post are Michael Dooley, Steve Murphy and Jerry Swain.
Dooley lost the now void 2009 election to Ritchie and is currently embroiled in a legal action with Ucatt after he was sacked by the union earlier this year. The Certification Officer’s investigation into the 2009 ballot followed a complaint about the conduct of the election by Dooley.
Of the other candidates running for election, Murphy is Ucatt’s Yorkshire Regional secretary and is seen as close to Ritchie.
Swain is regional secretary of the union’s largest region in London and the South East and is known to have clashed with Ritchie on a number of issues.
Ritchie’s decision comes at the same time as Ucatt is understood to be carrying out an internal investigation into his conduct while in charge of the union.
The CO declared the 2009 ballot was void because less than 57,000 of the union’s claimed membership of around 130,000 received ballot papers. Less than 12,000 Ucatt members actually voted in the election.
