PLANS to use unpaid volunteers to staff Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations have been scaled back following crunch talks with unions.

Organisers Underbelly came in for fierce criticism after advertising for 300 “Hogmanay Ambassadors” to help stage the festivities.

Union officials warned the events company, who have just taken over the contract to run the extravaganza, they would take "direct action" unless there was a rethink amid fears the volunteers were replacing paid-for posts.

The Herald:

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The Unite union and the Scottish Trade Union Congress claimed all the volunteer roles for which organisers were recruiting were for posts paid in previous years.

Underbelly, which disputed those claims, has now agreed to pull adverts seeking nearly 50 volunteer managers and supervisors after meeting with union officials.

They have also agreed to “significantly reduce” the number of “non-supervisory” volunteers on duty at the event following talks.

The Herald:

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A joint statement on the use of volunteers during Edinburgh Hogmanay was released by Underbelly, Unite Hospitality, Better than Zero and the STUC.

It said: “Whilst opinions on the programme continue to differ, all parties thought it was a very constructive meeting and left with an understanding of the priorities and motivations of the others.

"As a result, the parties were able to reach an agreement on part of the programme. In consideration of points raised surrounding the language used to promote the programme and the potential for misunderstanding of the roles and the requirement for them, Edinburgh’s Hogmanay has ceased advertising ambassador supervisors and managers as volunteer roles and has instead moved them to paid positions. These roles will be paid at least the living wage.

“Edinburgh’s Hogmanay is committed to the ambassador programme and to making appropriate volunteer roles available in this and future years. Non-supervisory ambassadors will still be part of the festival and these volunteer roles continue to be advertised, albeit fewer than initially estimated.”

The Herald:

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A spokesman for Unite said: “Following constructive negotiations with Underbelly, there has been positive movement towards our request that staff are paid at least the living wage. The company has agreed to pay all supervisory and management staff at least £8.95 an hour for all hours worked and to significantly reduce the number of unpaid volunteers being used.”