Cleansing Department in “Crisis” as council struggle for employees
By Jonathan Black
Glasgow city council has said it is struggling to recruit cleansing staff, as it tries to mitigate a potential sanatory timebomb.
Figures from council’s streetscene revealed that the city has lost over 100 cleansing staff in the past five years.
Despite concerted recruitment drives it has been unable to refill even 50% of the vacant positions, leading to growing concerns about the safety and cleanliness of the city, while piling pressure on its already beleaguered workforce.
Chris Mitchell, GMB Convenor, has labelled the situation a “crisis” and has called on the council to increase wages to attract applicants.
He said “The wages are too low. It’s a dirty job. It can provide a lot of job satisfaction, but people need to be compensated appropriately.”
According to Mitchell, overworked staff are “bearing the brunt” of the situation as the public become frustrated by the unsanitary conditions, which are the result of budget cuts.
His comments follow a recent announcement by Glasgow City Council, that it will cut £120m in funding over the next three years. Mitchell has warned, without swift action, the city faces serious “decay” in the coming months.
