Deans 'treated as enemy within'

The Unite union official at the centre of the Grangemouth dispute has resigned from his job at the plant saying he was treated as the “enemy within” by management.

Stevie Deans had been suspended while Ineos investigated his involvement in the row over the selection of a Labour candidate in the Falkirk constituency.

Management were looking at claims he used company time for union business.

His treatment led to Unite to vote for strike action which led to last week’s shutdown of the plant.

At a union meeting tonight Mr Deans told members: “Ineos Grangemouth is now entering a new period, and my own situation would only prove to be a distraction, and would cast a shadow over what we all must hope will be a prosperous long-term future for the plant.”

Mr Deans and would-be Labour MP Karie Murphy were both suspended by the Labour Party as it investigated allegations of candidate-selection fixing in the Falkirk constituency earlier this year.

The investigation was closed last month after key witnesses withdrew evidence suggesting that they had been recruited to join Labour as part of a drive by Unite to cram the constituency party with supporters who would back its favoured candidate in a selection battle.

Both Mr Deans and Ms Murphy were reinstated as Labour members, b ut Ineos proceeded with its own investigation into Mr Deans activities, prompting Unite members at the petrochemical site to ban overtime and opt to take other industrial action at the end of last month.

Unite said that Mr Deans wrote in his resignation letter to Ineos that he was being treated as the “enemy within” after 25 years of working at the plant, and he accused the company of leaking emails to the media to “smear his reputation”.

He told the Unite meeting: “The hurt to my family is unforgivable and I will not allow management to take away my dignity and self-respect any further.”

The union said it is considering “what steps can be taken on Mr Deans’ behalf” without diminishing its commitment to the survival plan workers signed with Ineos last week.

Source Article from http://uk.news.yahoo.com/grangemouth-union-official-quits-162357060.html

Deans 'treated as enemy within'