Hospitality group facing mass grievance label the list of complaints as "bewildering"
Unite the Union have launched a list of grievances against 13 bars in Dundee and Glasgow run by MacMerry 300
Unite the Union published a list of grievances on behalf of staff members at 13 bars run by MacMerry 300 in Dundee and Glasgow on Friday.
The unions list of complaints have accused the hospitality group of mistreating staff, breaching Covid guidelines and not providing staff with holiday and sick pay. In a statement, a spokesperson for MacMerry 300 say the list of complaints is "bewildering."
Explaining the grievances Bryan Simpson from Unite says staff were encouraged to return to work while waiting on the results of a PCR test. On further Covid breaches he said: "There's even some cases of workers not being informed by the company that they had been a close contact through the test and trace system. So, in other words, a breach of the Scottish Government guidelines."
He added: "It's also about a failure to pay holiday pay and sick pay during a period where a lot of people were having to self isolate and actually aren't getting a penny from their employer in terms of their statutory sick pay amount. It's a really unacceptable way to treat workers but it's also potentially unlawful in terms of not receiving holiday pay and so on."
The union are now also accusing the group of trade union victimisation after the King of Islington, in Dundee, was closed over the weekend. Bryan Simpson said: "It was our highest organised venue in terms of density within the group. So, they've went for the venue where we've got the highest proportion of members effectively, and they've closed it."
The union have since announced that the pub will re-open, saying in a statement on Twitter: "Following public pressure and solidarity action from workers across the group, MacMerry will be reopening King of Islington and reinstating staff from Wednesday. We shall be seeking compensation and a full apology."
A spokesperson from the hospitality group has accused the union of ignoring requests to meet, stating: "We are also being denied any opportunity to address any genuine issues constructively, as Unite has ignored all our requests to meet on any day during this week."
However, Bryan Simpson says MacMerry 300 have rejected their requests to meet and negotiate, saying: "At first the company seemed open to meeting with us and now they have rescinded that offer and effectively said they only speak to us through a lawyer.
"We have put to them all of next week to meet, from the 17th to the 22nd of January and they've rejected that outright saying none of the directors will be available during that time. It's completely unacceptable, given how serious this grievance is and how widely felt the grievance is, that an organisation like this, an employer, would reject to meet their workforce over the period of a whole week."
In a statement a spokesperson for the hospitality group said: "I’d like to make it clear that no member of staff, nor Unite the union, brought any grievances to the senior management team before releasing a frankly bewildering list of complaints, in what is a highly regulated industry.
"We are also being denied any opportunity to address any genuine issues constructively, as Unite has ignored all our requests to meet on any day during this week. Staff say they will only meet with the union present, so we are stuck in Catch22; unable to explore any issues or to defend ourselves. We have said from the outset that we are happy to listen and are at a loss to see who benefits from this being played out in the media.”