Sir Ken to stand for re-election

An election for joint general secretary of Amicus will be held in June or July after Sir Ken Jackson, current general secretary of the AEEU section of the union, agreed to stand for re-election.

Sir Ken, who is 65 this month and would not normally expect to continue in office, had planned to stay on until 2004 to oversee the period following the merger with MSF in January.

However, a regional official of the union, Derek Simpson, lodged a complaint with the government's certification officer for trade unions against that decision.

The union's executive last month made a unanimous decision to hold an election this year.