A Resigning Matter
Well here's something I didn't know until the other day - that the former general secretary of UCATT, Alan Ritchie, resigned from his post last year just as an investigation into his expenses claims was about to get underway.
Alan the landed a job as a special adviser to a House of Commons committee chaired by a Glasgow Labour MP, Ian Davidson - as I reported on the blog site the other day.
So, here are two reports on people resigning - one from The Herald newspaper and the other from The Guardian - now I can understand why the Latvian Prime Minister decided to resign, but that's about all.
The Herald - Wednesday 27 November 2013
FORMER trade union chief Alan Ritchie is being accused of falsely claiming up to £100,000 in expenses.
During his tenure as general-secretary of UCATT, Mr Ritchie is alleged to have misused his credit union card while making unentitled claims.
When elected, he continued to be based in Glasgow while UCATT rules say the general-secretary must be based in London.
Mr Ritchie claims the union offered him an accommodation allowance and agreed to cover travel costs.
In addition to claiming for travel to and from Glasgow, he is also accused of claiming on stays in Europe.
He denies any wrongdoing and described the accusations as "frankly amazing".
He added that his visits to Europe were 'always on union business'.
Mr Ritchie resigned last year, just before a union hearing to investigate the matter was due to start.
Valdis Dombrovskis has resigned after the collapse last week of a supermarket roof in Latvia's capital, Riga. Photograph: Ints Kalnins/Reuters
The Guardian - Wednesday 27 November 2013
Latvia's prime minister has resigned after accepting political responsibility for the collapse of a supermarket roof in the capital that killed 54 people.
Valdis Dombrovskis' decision means that his center-right government automatically falls. He was the longest serving prime minister in Latvia's history.
"Considering the ... tragedy and all the related circumstances, the country needs a government that has a majority support in parliament and can solve the situation that has arisen in the country," Dombrovskis told journalists after meeting President Andris Berzins.
Last week's collapse of the Maxima supermarket was the worst disaster since Latvia declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, and has caused outrage among Latvians.
Police have opened a criminal investigation into the cause of the disaster. Possible explanations include a flawed design, substandard construction materials, and corruption.
Berzins has accepted the resignation and is now searching for a candidate who will need to put together a new coalition, the president's office said.
Dombrovskis came to power in 2009 as Latvia's economy was sinking into a deep recession and was charged with leading harsh budget cuts and tax increases while at the same time implementing tough structural reforms demanded by international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund.
Dombrovskis was re-appointed twice as prime minister since then, and is widely credited with preventing the small Baltic nation from going bankrupt.
Latvia's economy has returned to growth and was the fastest growing in the European Union over the past two years.
On January 1, Latvia will become the 18th member of the euro area.
Scottish Affairs (28 November 2013)
Here's an interesting article from the Times newspaper which tells the tale of a former union leader, Alan Ritchie, who had to stand down from his role as UCATT general secretary - only to resurface as a 'special adviser' to the House of Commons Scottish Affairs Committee which is chaired by the Glasgow MP, Ian Davidson.
Now two things jumped out to me about this report.
The first being that in an age of mobile telephony how can an MP not be available for comment just because he's travelling between Glasgow and London?
The second is that it seems more than a little strange that the Scottish Affairs Committee has refused to explain what its special adviser is paid - in fact I would go further, I'd like to know the way in which he was recruited.
Alan Ritchie is now facing legal action Andy Barr/NGN
By Michael Glackin
A former trade union chief, who is now a paid adviser to the House of Commons Scottish Affairs Committee, is facing legal action after being accused of falsely claiming up to £100,000 in expenses.
Glasgow-based Alan Ritchie, the former general-secretary of construction union UCATT, is being taken to court by the union following an internal investigation. A claim has been filed by the union lawyers and is in the court listings awaiting a hearing date, likely to be early next year.
Mr Ritchie is a paid adviser to the Scottish Affairs Committee, whose chairman, Ian Davidson, is MP for Glasgow South West.
UCATT is understood to have written to Mr Davidson informing him of concerns raised about Mr Ritchie’s expenses claims after his appointment as an adviser for the committee’s examination of blacklisting in the construction sector. He was appointed in May of last year.
A clerk for the select committee confirmed that Mr Ritchie was a “special adviser” but would not disclose how much he was being paid.
Mr Ritchie said last night that he is contesting the case and denied any wrongdoing. “My lawyers are talking to the union’s lawyers. I’ve done nothing wrong,” he said.
The news comes hard on the heels of the expenses scandal revolving around Paul Flowers, the former Labour councillor and Co-operative Bank chairman, who is on bail after being arrested in connection with a drugs investigation. He resigned as deputy chairman of the Co-op Group in June amid concerns about his expenses. Mr Davidson was travelling between Glasgow and London yesterday and unavailable for comment.
UCATT also declined to comment.
Union sources alleged that Mr Ritchie “misused” his union credit card and also allegedly claimed other expenses to which he was not entitled.
When Mr Ritchie was elected general-secretary of the union he continued to live in Glasgow and commuted weekly to UCATT’s London headquarters, claiming the travel costs and accommodation on his expenses. He is also understood to have claimed for several stays in Europe. Under UCATT rules the general-secretary is supposed to be based in London.
Mr Ritchie said: “I had an agreement with the previous general-secretary that I would have an accommodation allowance of £48 per night during the week when I stayed in London and that the union would pay for my travel to and from Glasgow. The previous general-secretary took out an interest-free loan to buy a house when he moved to London, I didn’t.
“After doing that for seven years, the union suddenly said it was against the rules and they didn’t know I had been claiming for these things. It’s frankly amazing. They’ve also said that other expenses I claimed for, such as office equipment, were not authorised, yet the accountants signed off on all my expenses every year.”
Mr Ritchie said European travel and hotel accommodation expenses that he claimed during his time as general-secretary were “always on union business” in his role within the European Federation of building workers to which UCATT is affiliated. Mr Ritchie resigned from UCATT last year after being barred from standing for re-election amid allegations within the union that he had misused expenses. He announced his resignation minutes before a union hearing into the matter was due to commence.
He had to stand down as general-secretary in 2011 after the Certification Officer, the independent trade union watchdog, declared his 2009 leadership election win “void” following complaints from the losing candidate.
Then he was given a role working out of the union’s Glasgow office but in October 2011 he was suspended from that job on full pay when UCATT began its investigation of his expenses.
Mr Ritchie was paid a salary of about £75,000.
A union source said staff and officials at the union failed to confront Mr Ritchie about his expenses because they were “reluctant” to challenge him.
They said Mr Ritchie had initiated a number of internal investigations and hearings into union officials who had disagreed with him.
A former trade union chief, who is now a paid adviser to the House of Commons Scottish Affairs Committee, is facing legal action after being accused of falsely claiming up to £100,000 in expenses.
Glasgow-based Alan Ritchie, the former general-secretary of construction union UCATT, is being taken to court by the union following an internal investigation. A claim has been filed by the union lawyers and is in the court listings awaiting a hearing date, likely to be early next year.
Mr Ritchie is a paid adviser to the Scottish Affairs Committee, whose chairman, Ian Davidson, is MP for Glasgow South West.
UCATT is understood to have written to Mr Davidson informing him of concerns raised about Mr Ritchie’s expenses claims after his appointment as an adviser for the committee’s examination of blacklisting in the construction sector. He was appointed in May of last year.
A clerk for the select committee confirmed that Mr Ritchie was a “special adviser” but would not disclose how much he was being paid.
Mr Ritchie said last night that he is contesting the case and denied any wrongdoing. “My lawyers are talking to the union’s lawyers. I’ve done nothing wrong,” he said.
The news comes hard on the heels of the expenses scandal revolving around Paul Flowers, the former Labour councillor and Co-operative Bank chairman, who is on bail after being arrested in connection with a drugs investigation. He resigned as deputy chairman of the Co-op Group in June amid concerns about his expenses. Mr Davidson was travelling between Glasgow and London yesterday and unavailable for comment.
UCATT also declined to comment.
Union sources alleged that Mr Ritchie “misused” his union credit card and also allegedly claimed other expenses to which he was not entitled.
When Mr Ritchie was elected general-secretary of the union he continued to live in Glasgow and commuted weekly to UCATT’s London headquarters, claiming the travel costs and accommodation on his expenses. He is also understood to have claimed for several stays in Europe. Under UCATT rules the general-secretary is supposed to be based in London.
Mr Ritchie said: “I had an agreement with the previous general-secretary that I would have an accommodation allowance of £48 per night during the week when I stayed in London and that the union would pay for my travel to and from Glasgow. The previous general-secretary took out an interest-free loan to buy a house when he moved to London, I didn’t.
“After doing that for seven years, the union suddenly said it was against the rules and they didn’t know I had been claiming for these things. It’s frankly amazing. They’ve also said that other expenses I claimed for, such as office equipment, were not authorised, yet the accountants signed off on all my expenses every year.”
Mr Ritchie said European travel and hotel accommodation expenses that he claimed during his time as general-secretary were “always on union business” in his role within the European Federation of building workers to which UCATT is affiliated. Mr Ritchie resigned from UCATT last year after being barred from standing for re-election amid allegations within the union that he had misused expenses. He announced his resignation minutes before a union hearing into the matter was due to commence.
He had to stand down as general-secretary in 2011 after the Certification Officer, the independent trade union watchdog, declared his 2009 leadership election win “void” following complaints from the losing candidate.
Then he was given a role working out of the union’s Glasgow office but in October 2011 he was suspended from that job on full pay when UCATT began its investigation of his expenses.
Mr Ritchie was paid a salary of about £75,000.
A union source said staff and officials at the union failed to confront Mr Ritchie about his expenses because they were “reluctant” to challenge him.
They said Mr Ritchie had initiated a number of internal investigations and hearings into union officials who had disagreed with him.
