Hands off our jannie, say parents in school protest
PARENTS have come out in force to protect their muchloved school janitor.
A picket was held outside Shawlands Primary School where adults and children held up placards as a piper played.
Shawlands school community is defending their jannie Peter, who faces being moved from the primary during a service restructure.
Kirstie Corbett, chairwoman of the community council, said: “Peter has been a janitor for more than 30 years but he’s been in our school for more than 16 years.
“He’s a great character, so laid back and level headed and a brilliant male role model for our children in a female dominated environment.
“He knows every pupil by name and he can diffuse any playground situation i n moments.
“Our school would not function without him on site.”
School janitors in Glasgow have been repeatedly striking during a long-running dispute over reorganisation plans and pay.
Cordia, the arm’s-length Glasgow city council firm in charge of janitorial services, plans to introduce 30 “operational clusters”, ending the system of one janitor per school.
The proposal will see the loss of 33 jobs from the 219 janitors employed in schools across Glasgow. Union Unison wants janitors to be paid extra for certain tasks that are dirty or involve heavy lifting.
Cordia has refused to pay janitors Working Context and Demands Payments, which range from £500 to £1000 per year.
Instead, janitors have been offered a pay rise of around £1000 in return for new working conditions.
Under new plans, janitors would be given the new job title of “facilities assistants” and there would be 30 promoted posts of “facilities co-ordinators”.
Parents and pupils came out in Peter’s support before school on Friday, with signs reading One School One Janitor and You Canny Have My Janny.
Ms Corbett, who has one child at the school, added: “Peter performs a difficult to define, parochial care role in our community that is vital to how the community functions.
“He lets our boys have a little bit of autonomy by allowing them to go over the fence if the ball gets out.
“It sounds like a small thing but it makes them feel responsible and shows how good Peter is with the children.
“Fundamentally, we do feel Cordia is making a mistake here.
“To our knowledge, there has been no consultation with parents about what the impact of this will be.
“They have managed to consult with us on things like nutritional guidelines, so we know it is possible.”
Cordia responded by reissuing a statement it had released in mid-February regarding the wider janitor strikes.
The statement reads: “The Cordia janitorial reform will create a modern facilities management service that plac- es Cordia staff at the heart of local communities.
“When implemented, janitorial staff will see an increase in salary and other benefits as well as promotion opportunities.”
In response, Ms Corbett said: “Cordia staff are already at the heart of my community and I would like them to stay there.”