Gardener set for dismissal appeal

A GARDENER who worked for a Glasgow events centre has lodged an appeal against his dismissal, claiming his sacking

.“was linked to his union work.

Robert O’Donnell, 37, was employed by the SECC for the last 12 years but claims he was unfairly dismissed four days ago due to his union involvement. He plans to launch an internal appeal.

Robert became a health and safety representative for Unison 18 months ago and claims since then he faced a “deterioration” in his relationship with senior management at the Finnieston-based venue.

He said: “I did not have one blemish on my record. They don’t recognise trade unions, all the staff at the SECC don’t have collective bargaining.

“We’ve been trying to organise the workforce for the past two-and-a-half years, and about a year-and-a-half ago I became a union rep. Since then there has been a deterioration between management and myself.”

Scott Donohoe, of Unison, said: “The SECC, which is 91 per cent owned by Glasgow City Council, has refused to recognise trade unions for collective bargaining purposes and has been hostile to trade union recruitment activities.”

An SECC spokeswoman said: “We are unable to provide information regarding an individual employee’s case and it would be inappropriate to comment further.”