- Gordon Fraser Scully has launched legal action against Sydney Metro
- Scot claims he was racially discriminated against because of his ‘accent’
EXCLUSIVE
A legal row has erupted among Sydney Metro’s top bosses as a Scottish-born project director claims he has suffered racial discrimination and harassment in the workplace.
Gordon Fraser Scully, 43, is currently a deputy director in the metro security sector after eight years working on Australia’s largest public transport project.
But in a legal action against the NSW Department of Transport, he claims he suffered racial discrimination in 2023.
According to his claim filed in the NSW Civil Court, Mr Scully applied for a promotion in February 2023 and was interviewed for the position in April.
However, he was unable to do so, and according to him he missed it because a female boss told his colleagues that ‘people couldn’t understand him because of his Scottish accent’.
A male colleague told Mr Scully on March 21, 2023 that the manager said the project director “talked too much, that his communication style caused misunderstandings or that his approach was wrong.”
Mr Scully interpreted the feedback as ‘potentially racially vindictive against my Scottish accent and heritage’, according to documents filed in his claim.
Gordon Scully, 43, (pictured with his wife) launched legal action against his employer, Sydney Metro, last year
Sydney Metro is Australia’s largest public transport project. Pictured is one of the project’s construction sites in Sydney’s west
Two days later, Mr Scully attended a meeting with the male colleague and his female second manager, where she said there had been feedback that ‘wasn’t positive’ and that his style was ‘not palatable to others and there was too much conflict were’. .
After the meeting, Mr. Scully concluded that there “appeared to be a connection between my racial background and the unfolding recruitment process.”
Mr Scully also claims that another colleague told him to ‘take to the streets and jump under a bus’ in June 2023 after sending an email to a senior manager criticizing his behavior during a meeting.
Mr Scully launched his legal action last August, claiming Sydney Metro had broken anti-discrimination laws by denying or restricting his access to opportunities on the grounds of race.
However, his case was dismissed last month after the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal ruled there was no evidence Mr Scully was discriminated against because he was Scottish.
During the hearing, Mr Scully said he believed he had been discriminated against because of his Scottish accent and heritage, but admitted no one had stated or concluded this was the case.
Pictured is a Sydney Metro train during testing in 2018
In her ruling, senior member Larissa Andelman noted that while Mr. Scully believes the issues identified by his female colleague stemmed from his race or accent, he also acknowledged that no one directly claimed or suggested that was the case.
“There is no evidence that the claim that Mr Scully talked too much was related to his Scottish heritage,” Ms Andelman found.
‘There is no evidence that the respondent preferred to appoint a person to the role who was not Scottish.
‘There was no evidence of any link between Mr Scully’s Scottish heritage and the decisions made by the respondent during the recruitment process.
“In addition, Mr. Scully was interviewed for the position following the meeting on March 23 and there is no evidence that the meeting had any influence on the recruitment process or decision-making.”
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mr Scully for comment.