Scottish Catholic Observer

The GMB union have said East Dunbartonshire Council are complicit in anti-Catholicism by refusing to comment or act on complaints of discrimination against a waste depot manager with a history of bigotry.

The Catholic Church have urged the council to respond urgently after the union said they had received 15 reports from council employees about the Bishopbriggs waste depot supervisor William Hendry.

Mr Hendry, 48, was found guilty of making sectarian remarks caused by religious prejudice in December 2013. He was fined £400.

Despite the complaints, East Dunbartonshire Council have refused to comment and ignored requests by a leading anti-sectarianism charity to help.

“There is no place for anti-Catholic intolerance or discrimination in the workplace,” a spokesperson for the Catholic Church said. “We expect East Dunbartonshire Council to respond urgently and robustly to these concerns.

“Council leaders may also wish to reassure both Catholic staff and residents who feel duly concerned that their ­fundamental freedom to exercise religion is being undermined by intolerance, ignorance and inaction.”

Hazel Nolan of the GMB union ­previously told The Sun: “We’ve had 15 complaints and 14 are from Catholics. One is from a Protestant but he wears a Celtic shirt, so Hendry has seemingly assumed he’s Catholic too.

“We have lost four guys who have been dismissed after years of service, supposedly following a run-in with Hendry. And it is claimed another was questioned about going to a Holy Communion because he happens to be married to a Catholic woman.

“They are miserable. East Dunbartonshire Council are well aware and have done nothing—we have reported it to police.”

Dave Scott from the charity Nil By Mouth said their attempts to work with the council have been ignored.

“We’re very aware of the concerns of staff and unions about this situation,” he said. “We contacted the council in November to offer our experience and advice free of charge. Sadly, nearly three months on, we have heard nothing back.

“There are clearly a lot of questions needing answers here and I think the fact the local authority is not responding would suggest they know they’re in a tricky situation. It’s a problem that’s not going away and has clearly had a negative impact on the workplace.

“Doing nothing isn’t an acceptable option for the council. We need action and probably an external investigation.”

Following his conviction, Mr Hendry left his job at North Lanarkshire Council and was soon taken on by East Dunbartonshire. The Sun reported at the time of his conviction that Mr Hendry had told a shocked colleague their depot would run better without Catholics and said worshippers should go back to Ireland.

GMB’s Hazel Nolan told the SCO: “Either he lied about his conviction or he didn’t and the council still saw fit to put him in the position.

“It’s really alarming that the council have ignored an independent charity that works on breaking down sectarianism.”

Asked by the SCO to comment, Ann Davie, East Dunbartonshire Council’s depute chief executive for education, people and business, said: “We do not comment on individual members of staff.”