MP campaigning for workers' rights is in bitter dispute with his own staff

Chris Stephens, SNP spokesperson on trade unions and workers’ rights, is involved in a row with employees at his constituency office.

Two staff have been suspended on full pay since January in a dispute that has seen trade unions called in and party colleagues move to distance themselves from the Glasgow South West MP, who serves on the Work and Pensions Committee.

One elected politician told The National they were “dismayed” to learn of the situation, saying: “This is not a party issue, it’s an individual. He’s made a rod for his own back.”

The National also spoke to several other elected officials from the Glasgow area who told us of similar concerns over the dispute but did not want to be quoted.

It is understood that the staff members, based in Stephens’s office in the city’s Cardonald district, were initially told they were to be made redundant as a result of restructuring, before this was withdrawn and a disciplinary process initiated instead.

The workers now face a number of allegations about their conduct, including breach of confidentiality and breach of protocol.

They strongly deny these allegations and are awaiting the outcome of an internal investigation led by Stephens.

The National also understands that one of the staff was off with ill health when they initially found out they were facing redundancy.

Stephens has hired his wife Aileen Colleran, a former Glasgow Labour councillor, to work in his office.

A spokesperson for the MP, who was previously a senior activist for the Unison union, said: “We do not comment on internal staffing matters.”

According to official guidelines, MPs’ staff can be suspended at their normal rate while misconduct allegations are investigated.

It is understood that charges faced by Stephens’ staff include that of demeanour in the workplace. Employees have the right to appeal the results of investigations.

A local SNP source aware of the situation told us: “We are working so hard to move forward. If anyone on any level does anything to bring that into question, whether it’s personal or something else, you think ‘what are you doing?’ “We are representing our party, our city and our country. When anybody does anything to slander that, it isn’t good. It takes the focus away from the good things we are doing.”

Stephens – a member of the 15,000-strong SNP Trade Union Group – was re-elected at the last general election with a majority of just 60 votes, but resisted a challenge by Labour councillor Matt Kerr.

He is currently awaiting the second reading of his Workers (Definition and Rights) Bill, which is scheduled to take place next month.

The legislation seeks to end the use of zero hours contracts and tighten up the definition of a worker to prevent exploitation by employers. The move follows calls by trade unions and activists at the Better Than Zero campaign, and similar organisations.

His recent contributions in Westminster have included the raising of concerns around the tipping of parliamentary restaurant and bar staff, the testing of blacklisting when public sector contracts are awarded and protection for workers when a contractor ceases trading.

Writing in the Scottish Left Review earlier this year, Stephens said: “It is frustrating to have the sense of the clock being turned back to Victorian standards of employment.”

Calling for cross-party support for his Bill, he argued that the Tory vision of work could see “the vast majority of jobs becoming low paid, insecure and highly dependent on the worker being totally flexible” if fully realised.

He went on, saying: “Dismantling social protections is the key to maximising the opportunities for exploitation, whether it be eroding employment rights or dismantling the welfare state.”