A Dundee bar chain at the centre of a mass grievance from staff has appointed an external investigator to look into its handling of sexual misconduct allegations.
Workers at MacMerry 300 and Abandon Ship Ltd have made a series of allegations about the running of the firms.
The claims, backed by dozens of current or former employees, emerged in January – leading to a war of words between union Unite and MacMerry director Phil Donaldson.
Mr Donaldson later committed to a full investigation.
Two months on, Unite claims there has been “little to no action” following weeks of talks, while one employee has told The Courier that there are “still issues”.
MacMerry 300 denies this, with Mr Donaldson saying he has been working “relentlessly” to resolve every grievance.
In a statement provided to The Courier, Mr Donaldson said: “All holiday and pension issues have been rectified and we are working closely with the pension regulator, who are happy with our workings with them.
“In April we plan to raise the hourly rate to above the UK real living wage across the board.
“We have implemented better in-house communication systems and have rectified any of the maintenance issues that were perhaps highlighted.
Third-party investigator appointed
“We have appointed a third-party investigator called Dorothy McKinney Ltd to investigate the allegation that there was a wrongdoing regarding a sexual misconduct claim within the workplace.
“It would be completely irresponsible to make any comment on this until the investigation has come to a conclusion.
“By the end of this month’s pay run, all holiday for recent leavers of the company will have been paid.”
Mr Donaldson also confirmed a second staff member has been suspended over sexual misconduct allegations, though it is understood that worker is not based in Dundee.
One worker, who has asked to remain anonymous, told The Courier: “Even though current staff are being paid, there are a lot of former staff struggling to get their pay.
“Everything is done on an individual basis so it’s hard to keep up with all of that, but it has improved.”
The staff member also says the firm has introduced a portal to deal with any pay issues.
‘They’re trying to fix things quietly’
But they say there has been “very little communication” about the sexual misconduct investigation.
They added: “That’s the biggest problem – they’re trying to fix things quietly or hoping it will go away instead of sending us emails and making it official.”
Bryan Simpson, Unite’s lead hospitality organiser, said: “Two months after a majority of their workforce submitted a shocking collective grievance backed up by irrefutable evidence, we’ve seen little to no action at MacMerry and Abandon Ship bars, certainly on the most serious elements of the complaint.
“The directors are now ignoring formal requests for unpaid pensions and holiday pay.
“We still have no idea what is happening with the so-called independent investigation into sexual misconduct because the owners have not shared any information with the union which represents the workers concerned.
“This inaction is why we took peaceful, direct action outside their flagship unit in Covent Garden, London, on March 9.
“Such actions will continue until the directors start acting on the commitments they made in January to deal with the grievance and to recognise the union which represents the majority of their workforce.”
A spokesperson from Dorothy McKinney Ltd says the firm is unable to comment on the specifics of its investigation.
