A Union is mulling legal action against collapsed housebuilder the Stewart Milne Group, saying no notice was given to workers before they were made redundant.
Unite is to organise meetings for affected staff in Aberdeen and Dundee next week to discuss their options.
Administrator Teneo was appointed on Monday for the housebuilder, which is headquartered in Aberdeen, halting construction on sites across Scotland, with 217 roles being made redundant.
Unite represents over 60 workers at the construction company in various locations including Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
READ MORE: Ian McConnell - A peculiar feature of the Stewart Milne collapse
Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham, said: “Unite will do everything possible to support the Stewart Milne Group workers. The company has treated its loyal workforce disgracefully."
The two meetings to be held on Monday 15 January will take place at:
10.30am to 12.30pm – Dundee – Apex Hotel, 1 West Victoria Dock Road, Dundee
2.30pm to 5pm – Aberdeen - the Beach Ballroom, Beach Promenade
The administrator Teneo stated that 217 trade roles will be lost, but it is feared that hundreds more in the supply chain will lose their jobs.
Unite has called on the Scottish Government and local authorities to urgently work with the union to explore how the workers can be found suitable alternative employment on public procurement contracts.
Two webinars have been organised by the Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) for employees affected by redundancy.
However, this has also been criticised by Unite, who said that it ‘fails to understand the nature of the construction industry’.
Unite said the approach is inadequate as construction workers face greater reading and writing difficulties and IT proficiency challenges compared to other workers.
READ MORE: Housebuilder Stewart Milne collapses, jobs lost
The union is therefore demanding public meetings, organised by PACE and the Scottish Government, in the various locations to fully support the workers.
John Clark, Unite industrial officer, added: “Unite will be stepping up our efforts to provide legal support for the Stewart Milne Group workers by hosting these meetings in Aberdeen and Dundee. We are crystal clear that the company has acted in a potentially unlawful way, and these events will help our members make protective award claims.”
“It’s also extremely disappointing to discover that PACE will be hosting two webinars instead of physical events. We hope this is immediately reviewed because it fails to understand the nature of the construction industry and the proficiency challenges that many workers face.”
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