Scottish Labour's newly appointed enterprise spokesman, Graeme Pearson MSP, has condemned as "Victorian" the actions of Sports Direct tycoon Mike Ashley in laying off around 80 employees at the company's USC distribution centre at Dundonald, South Ayrshire.
Pearson said: "I am completely shocked that any company would treat their staff in this way… they were given no advance warning before a fleet of lorries came to remove the stock, and they were told the next morning they were being made redundant. It's behaviour from Victorian times, showing no decency and no honesty."
Pearson and the STUC's assistant secretary, Ian Tasker, met affected workers in Kilmarnock on Friday to inform them of their legal rights.
Tasker said: "Workers are entitled to a 40-day consultation period, and employers or the liquidators should ensure that people are appointed or elected from the workforce to carry out this consultation.
"As far as we are aware that didn't happen, as no worker we spoke to was aware of any such process."
In total, around 150 people worked at the Dundonald facility, though around half have been transferred to Glasgow or were agency workers.
On Thursday, Ashley, who also owns Newcastle United, offered a loan of about £10 million to Rangers secured on Ibrox stadium and the club's Murray Park training ground.
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