Dunfermline facing wages action

THE patience of Dunfermline’s beleaguered players has finally snapped as first-team stars prepare to lodge a formal complaint with the Scottish Football League regarding unpaid wages.

Staff are currently in the midst of a fourth successive month of delayed salaries, while sources suggest unpaid bonuses could stretch back as far as October 2012. PFA Scotland, the players’ union, have been in regular dialogue with players from Dunfermline for several months, but, with no end to the problems in sight, matters have come to a head. The union now looks likely to lodge a formal complaint on behalf of the Pars players.

The club’s majority shareholder Gavin Masterton told BBC Scotland this week: “It’s tough, it’s embarrassing but it’s not the end of the world. It’s not as though they’ve been paid 15 per cent. It’s better than having no job at all.”

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Chairman John Yorkston addressed staff at the club’s Pitreavie training base on Thursday afternoon, but has failed to alleviate the concerns of the players.

SFL rule 127 states a club cannot “breach any term of a player’s contract or agreement”. However, unlike the Scottish Premier League, there are no automatic sanctions for contract defaults and a complaint must officially be lodged with the league before the case is judged on its individual merits. Dunfermline plan to launch their delayed share issue next week which they hope will raise between £300,000 and £500,000.