Latest news with #JimGillespie
Daily Record
13 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Record
Trade union in talks with Paisley charity Kibble following claims of "financial crisis"
The organisation told staff of the challenges being faced as it sought to downgrade their pay and working conditions. Kibble Education and Care Centre has told employees it is in 'financial crisis' days after confirming it spent tens of thousands of pounds on a defamation case. The Paisley-based charity told staff of its financial challenges as it sought to downgrade their pay and working conditions. The news was delivered just days after Kibble confirmed it had covered the legal fees of two of its employees, Jim Gillespie and Mark MacMillan, who launched a defamation case against Alan Wardrop. Judge Lord Clark last week accepted that Mr Wardrop's accusation that the pair – Kibble's representatives on the board of St Mirren FC – had covered up a secret plan to build a wellbeing centre on club-own land was defamatory. But their claim for damages was dismissed as Lord Clark said he believed that Mr Wardrop's comments were in the public interest and were honestly held based on the evidence he had at the time – both defences under the Scottish law around defamation damages. Within days of the case being dismissed, Kibble employees were issued with a letter stating the rate of pay for overtime was being reduced; the notice period was being extended to eight weeks; and, further, that staff would no longer be afforded sick pay if they were signed off ill within that eight-week period. Unison, the trade union which represents staff at the children's charity, told the Express: 'Earlier this year, Unison was called to a meeting with members of Kibble management who advised that they are in significant financial crisis and that they are struggling to retain staff. 'Assurances were given that [the proposed changes] would not be enacted without trade union agreement and following member consultation. Despite this, management have proceeded to implement changes and no further discussion has taken place with the trade union.' Unison had threatened strike action at the Goudie Street facility but a planned ballot was suspended at the eleventh hour when Kibble agreed to resume talks with the union. Mark Ferguson, Renfrewshire branch secretary of Unison Scotland, said Kibble had withdrawn the disputed changes to members' terms and conditions. He said: 'On the back of this development, Unison has agreed to postpone its ballot of members and will engage in further discussion with Kibble management – hopefully this will result in a successful negotiated agreement.' A spokesperson for Kibble said: 'We place a great deal of value on our long-standing relationship with Unison and are committed to reaching a mutually agreeable solution to this issue. Discussions are ongoing and we expect the matter to be resolved to everyone's satisfaction in the near future.'
Scotsman
24-04-2025
- General
- Scotsman
Kibble kids support FEARLESS charity with £3k donation
Young people from Kibble have chosen a charity that supports people who have witnessed or experienced crime, as the recipient of a generous £3,000 donation. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The young people chose FEARLESS, a Crimestoppers charity, to receive the donation after winning a competition with The Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI), which is managed and funded by The Wood Foundation. Over 50 young people from Kibble took part in a school-initiative with YPI, advocating for the charity of their choice in mock exercises, presentations, campaigns and creative executions, including social content and TikTok videos. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad One young person of Kibble said: 'The charities we chose help so many people of all ages, and I'm really grateful they exist. It's reassuring to know there are organisations out there making a real difference for those who need support and I was glad to get involved.' YPI Event FEARLESS is a charity that enables young people to pass on information about crime 100% anonymously. The organisation is part of Crimestoppers and works closely with local authorities to provide children and young people, aged 11 – 18, a safe and anonymous route to providing information on crime via an outreach service. The money will be used to make reporting crime anonymously more accessible for children and young people who can't read and write. Impressed with the efforts and ambition displayed by the young people, Kibble stepped up and donated £500 to the second-place winner, Possibilities for Each and Every Kid (PEEK) Project and £250 to the joint third-place charities, Beatson and Neil's Hugs. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Jim Gillespie, Chief Executive Officer, Kibble said: 'The young people who took part in the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative showcased their passion and support for the individual charities that they chose to advocate for. We saw young people choosing to support FEARLESS, Women's Aid, Save the Children and Beatson Cancer Charity amongst many others. Lyndsay McDade (Fearless), Leona Donnelly (Kibble) and Lynn Raynal (YPI) 'We are pleased to be able to support FEARLESS, the dedicated youth service from Crimestoppers. The work that they do to provide young people with the opportunity to safely and anonymously report crime is critical and makes a real difference.' The Wood Foundation's spokesperson said: 'Congratulations to Kibble's winning team for securing funds for Fearless. YPI is all about empowering and engaging young people to understand their role within their community and the ways in which they can make a difference while developing their own skills.' YPI is an active citizenship programme empowering young people to make a difference in their communities while developing a range of skills. Through teamwork, research, and competition, young people advocate for social issues in their communities in a bid to secure their school's £3,000 grant.
BBC News
23-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Thelwell linked with Rangers role
Rangers linked with former Premier League club official as St Johnstone hand trial to goalkeeper... Kevin Thelwell, who has worked with Everton, Wolves and New York Red Bulls, is in line for a key role at Rangers (Mail), appointment of a new sporting director at Rangers is close. (Record), externalSt Mirren vice-chairman Jim Gillespie has turned down offers from England since also rejecting the chance to become Rangers chief executive. (Sun), externalFormer Rangers and Scotland defender Russell Martin is on Leicester's shortlist should they sack manager Ruud van Nistelrooy. (Sky Sports), externalScotland cap Oliver Burke, 28, has turned down two contract offers at Werder Bremen. (Herald - subscription required), externalSt Johnstone have given a trial to 19-year-old goalkeeper Nathaniel Nwosu, who has been capped by Nigeria. (Courier - subscription required), externalHearts duo Cammy Devlin and Michael Steinwender, who were both sent off in Saturday's Scottish Cup semi-final defeat by Aberdeen, will serve their one-match suspensions in next season's competition. (Edinburgh Evening News - subscription required), externalFormer Aberdeen forward Duncan Shearer urges the current Pittodrie squad to show they deserve a place in the Scottish Cup final against Celtic on 24 May. (Press and Journal - subscription required), externalNottingham Forest have set their sights on Scottish defender Dara Jikiemi, 15, who has caught the eye in Celtic's academy. (Football Insider), externalNeil Lennon has left the door open for an extended stay in charge of Dunfermline Athletic. (Courier - subscription required), externalThe owners of Hamilton Accies' New Douglas Park home have offered to postpone the club's stadium debts for up to a year (Scottish Sun), external.
Scottish Sun
22-04-2025
- Business
- Scottish Sun
St Mirren supremo Jim Gillespie reveals why he turned down chance to be Rangers chief executive
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) ST MIRREN chief Jim Gillespie has told how he's snubbed big money offers from England since rejecting Rangers. The Buddies vice-chairman was offered a deal to become Ibrox chief executive last August, as exclusively revealed by SunSport. 2 Jim Gillespie met Robert Grieve and Bill Leckie to discuss his time in football Credit: Kenny Ramsay 2 The St Mirren supremo almost became the new CEO of Rangers last year Credit: Getty Gillespie, 47, turned them down to stay with the Paisley club and continue in his role as CEO of care organisation The Kibble. And in the latest edition of our Coffee Club podcast, out now, he insists he's happy with his decision. Gillespie said: 'I've always respected anyone who comes and asks for a conversation or a cup of coffee with you. 'I've had conversations with other teams since Rangers. 'Rangers are a massive institution, a great organisation, and ultimately you have those conversations. 'But I've got an amazing job at Kibble, I need to say that. 'It's rewarding in more than just financial terms to make a difference to the kids that I work with on a daily basis, or the staff I lean on. 'That's something special - and obviously I'm now firmly embedded in St Mirren. 'Whether it's Rangers or there's other clubs, you've got to listen. 'But for the foreseeable future at the moment, my commitments are for The Kibble and St Mirren. Shocking moment Rangers fans attacked by Bilbao ultras in violent street brawl 'You get offer jobs from down south and you think, 'wow, look at the package,' 'But I've got two kids and I don't think I want to stay away from home from them.' SunSport broke the news that Rangers had targeted Gillespie as a replacement for James Bisgrove. He joked: "I was at at home under the bed for a couple of days - I couldn't leave." AS a kid, his mum was forever telling him to give his head a rest. But Jim Gillespie was obsessed with pushing himself to the limit as an enterprising youngster. And it's that same mentality and ambition that motivates him now at St Mirren. Gillespie, 47, is the Paisley club's vice-chairman driven by a vision and determination he's had all his days. And he vows that doesn't stop after the club claimed its third top six finish in the Premiership in three years. Gillespie told SunSport: 'I'm one of those ambitious people. "My mother used to say to me, 'Jim, you need to give your head a rest,' because I was always thinking of what's next. 'And I wanted to bring that to St Mirren. 'Tony Fitzpatrick had a great attitude about the top six. 'But I used to say to Tony, 'achieving top six is great, but how do we BECOME a top six club? 'Because I think there's a slight difference. 'You can go and get top six once and you can maybe wait three or four years - I think we were 38 years before we did it. 'But how do we become a top six team, how do we achieve that? 'I couldn't be more delighted with the team this season. 'Getting that top six is people think 'oh, you've achieved that.' 'But we've still got five games to go and we're very much determined to win those five games and see where that takes us.' Gillespie has opened up on life at St Mirren as a guest on SunSport's Coffee Club podcast that's out now. In a rare interview, he tells of the ups and downs as the Buddies' hands-on vice-chairman. And it's not all been smiles and pats on the back. It started when he joined the club in 2020 just weeks before the world ground to a halt when Covid hit. And earlier this season Gillespie was forced to show the door to three key players - Kevin van Veen, Shaun Rooney and Jaden Brown - for separate unacceptable off-the-field incidents. He added: 'Personally, it's challenging because you're heavily involved in that recruitment process when you bring those guys in. 'But I go back to having resilience in our business, and one of the things that we needed to create in St Mirren was resilience. 'And I think that it demonstrated that the club has that resilience by how we came through that. 'Look, they're young guys and I'm not here to say that were they guilty or they not guilty? 'I'm not here to judge. 'But what was clear was there were certain behaviours and things that didn't meet the values of St Mirren. 'As a board, we said 'let's follow due diligence with HR processes and legal situations, but they very much trained and played their last game of the club. 'We had to move them on because we're a value driven club, a value driven organisation. 'And therefore, the outcome was that those players moved on to new pastures. 'Unfortunately, we didn't see those things permeating into the position that they did. 'But I think there's also standards in the dressing room, standards in the club. that you're setting. 'And, overall, when you get through that, it leads you in a better place.' Buddies boss Stephen Robinson has always talked in glowing terms of his relationship with Gillespie - and the feeling is mutual. He added: 'Stephen is top class. "The relationship I have is based on him knowing I'm there to support him and give him what he can. 'To be honest, he gives me a lot back. 'He'll help me in the game and he'll he'll talk to me through certain things. 'He'll open up to me, which when you're a leader, you need that. 'You need you can have the relationship. 'The whole position for me as a manager at St Mirren is that they've got an ambition to go to a higher level. 'And if I personally or the club can help them in that, then why not?' Gillespie's doesn't just work tirelessly at St Mirren. His day job sees him strive to make the lives better of vulnerable people throughout Paisley and Renfrewshire as chief executive of care organisation, The Kibble. He just hopes one that day the work they do each and every days is NOT required to be done. Gilliespie added: 'I have said before that a strapline for the Kibble was that we exist not to exist. 'People, including the bank, find that mad when I say that. 'We're a big organisation. 'The Kibble is open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day and have been for over 170 years, so we very much just embrace it. 'We look after the most vulnerable young people in Scotland, sometimes further afield. 'But we have a host of services that, from residential care, community care, secure care, foster care. 'And we run education services right across that from in terms of workforce development. 'We get young people into employment, which is absolutely important for that hope in life, to get them into kind of skills for work and readiness. 'We offer that right across the 32 local authorities in Scotland, unfortunately, may I say.' Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
