UNION leaders in Glasgow have warned cuts to facilities in the city would “kill off community services”.
Bosses have also accused Glasgow Life chiefs of failing to properly consult with stakeholders before deciding which venues could face the chop.
As we have previously reported, dozens of libraries, community centres, and sports hubs – including Maryhill Library – were not on a list to reopen recently published by the council’s arm’s length body.
READ MORE: Glasgow Times calls on city to save our vital public venues
Union leaders in the city have today slammed the cuts while calling on every Glasgow candidate in the upcoming Scottish Parliament election to pledge to fight them.
Scott Donohoe, from Unison, said: “Glasgow Life and its board have failed to fully consult the key stakeholders in this programme, not only the unions but also Glasgow’s citizens.
“Glasgow Life cuts could kill off community services.
“The proposals won’t just affect our libraries but will be deeply felt across our sports venues, museums, public halls, community centres and the public services these venues provide in our local communities.
“To date there has been no meaningful consultation with the trade unions about this and no public consultation or accountability.”
Glasgow Life has pledged to reopen around 90 venues in the city after the council agreed to underwrite a £100 million a year funding guarantee.
GMB Scotland organiser David Hume: "The pandemic has had a disastrous impact on Glasgow Life's ability to generate revenue.
"As a direct result of this many libraries, community centres, sport centres and museums are in danger of never opening their doors again.
"We do welcome the additional resources Glasgow City Council have made available, but it is not enough.
"You cannot cut your way out of a crisis; our communities need investment."
The Glasgow Times launched the Save Our Venues campaign earlier this month and has called on Glasgow Life to offer more guarantees on the reopening of facilities.
A spokesman for Glasgow Life said: “We have been very clear with all of our audiences, for more than a year, about the devastating impact the pandemic has had on Glasgow Life’s finances.
"And we have been equally forthcoming about the 90+ venues the £100m guarantee provided to us by Glasgow City Council will allow us to reopen.
READ MORE: Save Our Venues: Glasgow residents have their say over planned cuts
“These disingenuous comments are disappointing and unhelpful, and only serve to fuel the misinformation that is being circulated about Glasgow Life at present.
"They are all the more disheartening given the fact that our chief executive has met with senior representatives at Unite, the GMB and BECTU within the past month, while UNISON declined our offer; insisting that discussions could continue at a local forum level.
"In the early period of the pandemic, we were meeting with our trade unions on a weekly basis and we continue to meet with them at least every month, during which time we have kept them fully informed about the seriousness of our financial position and what this means in terms of our ability to restart facilities and services.
“Having lost £38m in earned income over the past year, and with a near 15% reduction in our operating budget for 2021/22, we are reopening all of the venues that we can within the maximum budget available to us.
"Without the financial security provided by the Council, fewer facilities would be able to reopen. As such, we currently have no plans to reopen any more venues beyond those already announced.
“We know just how valued our services, and the venues which host them, are to the communities they serve, and we understand the concern that any changes may cause, but we have been saying for some time now that Glasgow Life faces the same difficult choices that many other organisations face in the wake of the pandemic.
"Without additional resources we cannot do more than we are doing. If we were to receive more funding then we could reopen more venues.”
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