Union Street chief calls for more street cleaners to be drafted in for clean- up cleaners
Stewart Paterson
MORE street cleaners are needed for the city centre this weekend for a clean up around the TRNSMT music festival, according to a union.
GMB has said there will not be enough extra staff deployed to cope with the tens of thousands more people heading to Glasgow Green during the three- day festival.
Around 50,000 people are expected to attend each day over the weekend.
The union said just two extra staff are being deployed each day in the city centre but budget cuts mean there are no resources for more to be on the streets.
The council, however, said an event plan is in place that involves three staff working overtime and is confident it will be effective.
Chris Mitchell, GMB cleansing convenor, said: “The more bodies there are on the street the quicker it gets cleaned up. It is not enough to ensure the streets are cleaned in time for the next morning and more people come in again. In years gone by, there would have been many more staff out.
“It could be an embarrassment, but one that could be avoided.”
He said the number of people in the city would merit an extra six or eight staff to cover the day and night shifts.
The council said that there will be enough extra staff to cope with the increase in people. A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council, said: “We have a well- developed plan for street cleansing operations around the TRNSMT event that’s proven to be effective in recent years.
“Additional staff will be deployed over the forthcoming weekend in support of city centre street cleansing operations after staff accepted the offer of overtime. Our operation is also sufficiently flexible to allow other staff to be redeployed into the area at short notice if the need arises.
“Overtime is routinely offered, as required, to staff when periods of high demand are anticipated and remains optional for staff if they wish to take up this offer. People attending the event can help by disposing of their rubbish in a responsible way.”