Dundee pub bosses at the centre of Covid-19 cover-up claims have been accused of closing one of the venues to victimise workers who spoke out.
The King of Islington was shut over the weekend and assistant general manager Kieron Kelleher believes the move was an attack on staff who signed a union-backed grievance against the firm’s directors.
The bar closed the day after operators Macmerry received the letter alleging over 60 issues with the company.
However, the firm has rejected all claims and said it is willing to discuss any genuine grievances or concerns.
They blamed the closure on “massively reduced trade levels” due to the the union’s “promotion of unsubstantiated allegations”.
Kieron, 23, has been supportive of the union action and fears he may lose his job as a result.
He said: “As if closing wasn’t obvious enough, I’ve been asked to hand in my keys.
“Nothing has been said about potentially going to another venue. Nothing has been said about wage, money, hours, anything.
“This is just their way of getting rid of me. They know that if they sacked me on this, they have no chance.”
The King of Islington closed due to ‘reduced trade’
A number of allegations were made against Macmerry – which also runs Abandon Ship, Bird & Bear and Draffens in the city – in a union-backed letter sent on Friday.
It’s alleged staff were “expected or felt pressured” into working shifts while experiencing Covid-19 symptoms, awaiting PCR results, and after coming into close contact with a coronavirus case.
The mass complaint, signed by over 50 employees, also levels accusations of sexual misconduct cover-up, health and safety issues, as well as issues with paying staff.
Macmerry closed the King of Islington on Saturday “for the forseeable” and blamed a reduction in trade for the move.
Kieron said: “I got an email saying the bar closed due to ‘massively reduced trade levels’ which isn’t the case.
“I do my finances at the end of the month and we’re only making about £300 less than on average. And that’s because it was during the winter period when we were quiet.
“Since we opened back up, we’ve only not hit the weekly target twice.
‘King is a profitable bar’
“They have a points system and it’s five points per week and you have to get to 20. If you get 15 or more, you get a bonus.
“I got to 19 [last month] and no other bar venues got anywhere near that. If that doesn’t show that the King is a profitable bar, then I don’t know what does.
“Gracie’s was the only other venue to hit the target, they got 16 points.”
Kieron believes the bar closed due to staff involvement in the union-backed grievance.
Unite Hospitality, the union supporting the complaint, claim all employees at the King of Islington are union members who signed the letter.
Kieron added: “I think they’re extra unhappy at how vocal I’ve been about it.
“I haven’t insulted anyone, I’ve just made points about how this affects our work.”
Staff allegedly overworked due to Covid absences
Kieron’s official role is assistant general manager, but says the Dundee venues do not have general managers for each building.
He said: “It’s their way of saving money – they’re not going to give someone a GM [general manager] role, they’ll just have assistant general managers and one guy above them all who doesn’t do anything in the venues.
“But I do a GM’s job and I’ve done it since the old GM left.”
One of the key issues raised in the grievance, however, was the company handling of an alleged Covid outbreak over the recent Christmas period.
“I was one of seven people to not catch Covid over the Christmas week, so I was moved to manage Bird & Bear,” he said.
Kieron claims that, during the week of 20-27 December, he was one of only seven staff running the Dundee venues. Some workers returned to help at the end of the week.
He said the bars were temporarily opened and closed to deal with the absences and staff were spread thin across the operating venues.
‘Terribly stressful week’
“They even called someone from Glasgow to help,” he added.
“There’s about 60 people in the company [at the Dundee venues] and we were down to seven, so that’s about 90% chopped.
“People were on open-closes. We had a terribly stressful week, especially for me who had to GM it.
“People were actively saying that they didn’t feel comfortable coming in because if they caught Covid, they couldn’t spend Christmas and New Year with their families.
“And management were heavy on it that you have to come in.
“Everyone was just overworked and working in poor conditions and everyone is getting chucked about different venues as well.
“It just means everyone is exposed to a different environment and different people all the time.
“We did complain about it at the time.”
Macmerry responds to grievance allegations
A spokesperson for Macmerry 300 said: “We utterly refute the claims made and will be consulting with staff immediately to find out why allegations may have been levelled.
“We are of course also willing to discuss any genuine grievances or concerns.
“The current, very public attack by Unite is wholly counter-productive as we have experienced a significant hit to trade due to their promotion of unsubstantiated allegations.
“Our clear preference would be to meet with all those involved and discuss any issues in a constructive manner.
“We have already offered several dates to Unite and await their confirmation.
“Until sensible dialogue can take place, I fear that further restrictions and closures may be inevitable and I am at a loss to see who benefits from this.”
