GLASGOW trade unions have taken action over the threat of 500 job losses at the city’s culture and leisure organisation with a formal collective grievance.
It emerged that hundreds of jobs could go at Glasgow Life, the arms-length council organisation, after it suffered devastating losses due to lockdown closures.
Glasgow Life has lost £38m during the pandemic and its estimated income for 2020/21 is just £6.4m.
Read more: Glasgow Life will see 500 jobs go amid covid crisis recovery
Unison, GMB and Unite say the arms-length charity has failed to properly consult staff about the plans.
Three unions argue Glasgow Life has failed to provide "basic staffing information" setting out how jobs might be protected and claim there was no "coherent plan" to reopen venues closed during the pandemic.
Brian Smith, Unison branch secretary, said: "We oppose all cuts to jobs and services. Glasgow needs more investment, not less.
"The trade unions are calling for a proper plan to secure the financial future of all current services and jobs. Glasgow's councillors and MSPs need to do more.
"Implementing cuts and managing the city's decline was not what they were elected to do. "
Glasgow Life said the job cuts would be made over a five year period and would not involve compulsory redundancies.
This latest development comes as The Herald leads a campaign for A Fair Deal for Glasgow calling for the city’s venues and treasures to be funded appropriately and for both the Scottish and UK governments to come together to deliver a new funding plan for Glasgow’s culture and leisure services.
An agreed council funding deal will see Glasgow Life receive a guaranteed £100m for the next four years to open 90 out of its 171 venues. Without further funding, they say they cannot reopen any more venues.
Read more: Anger and disappointment at Glasgow Life jobs threat as Scottish Government urged to step in
Some of the venues which are yet to reopen their doors include Whiteinch, Maryhill and the Couper libraries and the St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art.
Wendy Dunsmore, industrial officer for the Unite union, said: "The city's leisure and sport facilities, libraries and cultural venues are under immediate threat.
"We have called on the SNP government, for more than a decade now, to change their policy of underfunding local authorities with Glasgow being consistently one of the most underfunded areas."
A demonstration organised by the Glasgow Against Closures campaign due to take place later this month which will be supported by the unions.
A spokesman for Glasgow Life said: "We can confirm receipt of a collective grievance from Unison, GMB and Unite, and we will consider the matters raised through our formal grievance procedure."
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