Staff to protest over closure

CLEANSING staff will hold another protest over the closure of a depot in Glasgow’s East End.

The Baltic Street depot in Dalmarnock is scheduled to close at the end of this month with around 60 staff expected to work more than four miles away at another site in Queenslie.

Tomorrow they will hold yet another rally at Baltic Street at noon in protest of the move.

They previously held a similar protest last month.

We previously reported that workers opposing the move argue that they will now have to fork out at least £60 a month to cover travel costs.

Their new site Queenslie was also deemed not “fit for purpose” by the GMB union responsible for the workers – although Glasgow City Council argues that work is ongoing at the depot to upgrade the building for the incoming staff.

Those organising the protest said: “Glasgow City Council have told workers that their depot will shut in a matter of weeks. This will mean 60 workers are being moved, at their own cost, into a substandard depot in a different area of the city.

“But it also means that the people of Dalmarnock are losing another local service.

“People of Glasgow deserve local services and we need to stand together to save our city from the continuing cuts and closures. Join us for a rally at 12 and then people who want to can help by getting signatures on a petition and also leafleting in the local area.”

A spokesman for the council previously explained that the decision to consolidate the east city services around the Queenslie depot is part of a strategy to operate the local authority’s land and property as sustainably as possible.

Staff are also employed on a city-wide contract that can see them deployed from any depot.