Exclusive:Sheffield Wednesday staff to take union action over payment failures in 'enough is enough' message
Employees at Sheffield Wednesday have held meetings with trade union officials with a view to launching a collective grievance with the club over continued issues with payment, The Star can reveal.
A growing number of non-football staff working at the club have taken up membership and have attended two separate meetings with a union to better understand and discuss their rights amid Dejphon Chansiri’s repeat failure to satisfy financial obligations to his workforce in recent months. Many staff received only £1,000 of their expected payments for the month of September. Further union meetings are scheduled and will take place in the coming weeks.
Sources have told The Star that a letter of formal collective grievance will be lodged to the club within the next fortnight after further consultation between Unite The Union and its members within the Wednesday workforce. It’s understood that membership from those working within the club has grown sharply in the last weeks, with some days seeing ‘several’ new sign-ups in an applicable pool of around 100 Owls employees.
A collective grievance would serve as a first formal approach by unionised Wednesday employees to resolve payment issues with Chansiri after months of uncertainty. Should talks not prove fruitful, further options could include legal action. Unite have told The Star that the considerations are not being taken lightly by staff who have expressed great love and loyalty to the club, but now see no other option but to formalise their concerns. Some have reportedly taken bank loans to cover outstanding obligations, with others having borrowed from loved ones.
Daniel Gawthorpe, Regional Officer for North East Yorkshire and Humber, told The Star: “We've been approached by a number of members there and we've seen a massive increase in our membership because of the ongoing concerns. What we're doing now is meeting with members, we're looking at a potential legal claim against the club and we'll also be looking at getting support for our members through other channels.
“The membership has grown tremendously and clearly they want some action. We'll be reaching out to different people; council, MPs and obviously the club as well. We want to resolve this for our members.”
Longer-standing concerns have been mentioned to the union with regard to some working conditions at Hillsborough. The Star understands portable heaters have been known to be used in the event of heating failures in cold temperatures and that reports of vermin in the top floor of the club Megastore were acted upon and resolved by the club earlier this year. The central worry for employees is around payment, however, particularly as time moves on towards the end of the year.
“We're coming up to Christmas and these people aren't being paid correctly,” Mr Gawthorpe continued. “That is a major concern for our members. We could be looking at legal action against the club with regard to the unlawful deduction of wages. The concern would be how long that process would actually take. It's not a quick fix, but it's something further down the line that can be enforced. We want to get money in people's pockets now.”
An emergency fund for staff payment has been well advertised in internal correspondence and is believed to have proven to be a successful process for those who have chosen to take it up, though The Star has been told of instances where employees have chosen to avoid doing so due to pride or a desire not to worsen the club’s financial position.
No timescale has yet been given on when employees can expect the fulfilment of their September wages and communication through the club from Chansiri has been limited throughout the ongoing crisis. The Star has had no indication of positive news with regard to the sale of the club for several weeks.
“The mood of the people who have reached out to us is of 'enough is enough',” Gawthorpe said. “These are really good and hard-working people and their heart is in the club. The loyalty to the club is huge but it appears that that is being used against them. It seems like they're being expected to work for nothing or for a reduced amount.
“They are saying the communication is really poor coming down. People are being told at the last minute, people have direct debits coming out and they're having to rearrange them. It's putting people in financial hardship.”