GROUNDSKEEPERS are being asked to cover receptionists’ roles at Glasgow University’s multi-million pound sports complexes after bosses announced a round of job cuts, it has been claimed.
Staff, who say they will will also lose vital shift allowances for working anti-social hours, warn they expect to ‘do more with less’ as a three-month consultation on the future of their jobs gets underway.
Workers at the Stevenson sports facility and the Garscube sports complex are all affected by the shake-up, which will also see changes to the facilities opening hours
The move comes despite the University announcing a billion pound investment in the development of the main Gillmourhill campus after taking over the former Western Infirmary site, and two years after a £13.4 million extension to the Stevenson building was completed
Unions say they are negotiating with the university to minimise any job losses, while staff say they have been left in shock over the plans, which they warn will affect the quality of service they provide for both students and members of the public who use the facilities.
Around 70 people have been briefed during a meeting with bosses at the University, with the consultation due to come to a close around October.
One worker, who asked to speak anonymously, said that there was a good deal of anxiety among staff over the future of their jobs.
The source said: "This has been coming for a while and over the years they have cut the number of staff and part-time staff down to the bone. We've probably lost around 140 staff hours in the last three years.
"We went into the meeting expecting a further round of cuts, but the scale of this has totally blind-sided us. The belief is that it's because the 'white elephant' that is the Stevenson building is simply not pulled in the money they thought it would.
"There's talk of them asking staff to cover various roles at the same time, such as working in the gym, and the grounds and also doing reception. But some of these guys have never done anything like that before."
The worker added: "Ultimately, this will impact on the students and members of the public who use these facilities as the staff simply won't be able to keep up the standards they have become accustomed to."
Alison MacLean, Regional Organiser at the Unite union, said: “The union is aware of the situation and in consultation with the University of Glasgow.
"We encourage the University of Glasgow to listen to our members’ views and to mitigate the impact of process, as well as avoiding redundancies.”
The new opening hours of the Stevenson Building are planned to be 6.30am Monday to Friday and 9am at weekends. Meanwhile, the opening hours of the sports facilities at Garscube will be reduced to 10am until 10.20pm from Monday to Thursday, 10am to 8.20pm on Friday and from 10am to 5.50pm at weekends.
A spokeswoman for the University of Glasgow said: "The changes that have been proposed are focused on providing a great sports and recreation service for our students, our staff and our local community users.
"It is hoped the changes will be implemented from January 2018 and full consultation is now underway with colleagues from University of Glasgow Sport and the trade unions.
"University of Glasgow Sport is keen to retain staff and will be creating a number of new enhanced roles providing development opportunities as we enhance the experience offered to our users.
"Where a suitable match cannot be found we will of course do all we can to identify possible redeployment options for members of staff who are affected by the proposals.”
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