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divdiv class=story-body readability=34 span class=story-date#13; span class=date28 October 2013/span#13;span class=time-textLast updated at /spanspan class=time12:34 ET/span#13; #13;/span#13;#13; #13;#13;#13; #13; #13; #13; p class=introduction id=story_continues_1The Unite union official at the centre of the Grangemouth industrial dispute has resigned from his job at the facility./p#13; pStephen Deans had been suspended by operator Ineos over claims he used company time for union business./p#13; pIneos had been expected to reveal the outcome of a disciplinary case against him on Tuesday./p#13; pThe union previously voted for strike action over his treatment, which led to last week's shutdown of the plant./p#13; pMr Deans declined to comment when contacted by BBC Scotland. Unite said it would not comment until officials met union members at Grangemouth./p#13; pA statement released by Ineos confirmed Mr Deans had resigned from the company with immediate effect./p#13; pIt said: The company has conducted a thorough investigation into Mr Deans' activities over the last 18 months and made Mr Deans aware of these findings last week. /p#13; pMr Deans requested an additional five days prior to the final disciplinary hearing to allow him time to provide any further relevant information./p#13; pThe company was due to meet with Mr Deans again tomorrow but has now received his resignation./p#13; span class=cross-head'Rigging' claims/span#13; pMr Deans, the convener of Unite in Scotland, had worked at Grangemouth for 24 years./p#13; pHe had been accused of trying to rig the selection of a candidate for Westminster in his role as chairman of the Labour Party in the Falkirk constituency./p#13; pIt was claimed he signed up dozens of new members for Labour, promising the recruits that Unite would pay their membership fees on the understanding that they would back the union's choice in the contest to select a new candidate to stand for parliament in Falkirk, to replace the disgraced Eric Joyce./p#13; pMr Deans was suspended from the Labour Party but was later cleared by an investigation and reinstated./p#13; div class=story-feature narrow#13; a class=hidden href=#story_continues_2Continue reading the main story/a h2 class=quote“spanStart Quote/span/h2#13;blockquote readability=1p class=first-childDocuments were handed into Falkirk Police Station and will be passed to our electronic crime unit for examination”/p/blockquote#13;span class=endquoteEnd Quote/span#13; span class=quote-creditPolice Scotland/span#13; #13;#13; /div p id=story_continues_2But Ineos carried out its own investigation into allegations that some of the new Labour members had been signed up in the refinery./p#13; pThe row over his treatment erupted into a vote for strike action which was eventually called off by the union./p#13; pBut the threat of industrial action led to Ineos shutting down the facility last week - before later announcing the site's petrochemical plant would shut permanently with the loss of 800 jobs./p#13; pThe company eventually reversed that decision after staff agreed to implement changes to pay, pensions and conditions which Ineos said were necessary to ensure the survival of the petrochemical plant and the neighbouring oil refinery./p#13; pLabour MP Michael Connarty, whose Linlithgow and East Falkirk constituency includes Grangemouth, said he believed Mr Deans had been the ''subject of victimisation''. /p#13; pMr Connarty, who is currently at a conference in Lithuania, said he would be making no further comment until he had spoken to Mr Deans./p#13; pA Labour Party spokesperson said: This is a matter between Stevie Deans and Ineos. /p#13; pThere have been calls for Labour to reopen its investigation into the vote-rigging allegations after the Sunday Times claimed to have seen emails showing Unite had undermined its original inquiry./p#13; pThe newspaper reports claimed a fresh complaint had been made to police on Friday about the Falkirk Labour Party's handling of its candidate selection. /p#13; pIn a statement, Police Scotland said: Documents were handed into Falkirk Police Station and will be passed to our electronic crime unit for examination. /p#13; /div/divbrbrcentera href=http://www.wizardrss.comPowered By WizardRSS.com/a | a href=http://www.wizardrss.comFull Text RSS Feed/a | a href=http://www.amazon.com/RFID-Blocking-Cards-Identity-Protector/dp/B00CJHZLEWRFID/a | a href=http://www.wpzonbuilder.comAmazon Affiliate/a/center