Glasgow needs cleaning before Commonwealth Games, union bosses urge

UNION leaders have said that Glasgow needs a “deep clean” before hosting the upcoming Commonwealth Games.

The GMB union is demanding that the city’s cleanliness gets addressed by ministers before the Games begin in 2026. GMB also called for a tourist tax to be introduced to help pay for the measure.

John Slaven, GMB Scotland organiser in Glasgow City Council, said: “The council insist Glasgow is facing the same problems as other cities recovering from the pandemic but that doesn’t make it true.

“When Glaswegians go to these other cities, they find streets clear of litter and walls clean of graffiti, busy shops and a feeling of optimism. That is not the experience in Glasgow but it should be.

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“Huge clean-ups were launched before the ¬Commonwealth Games in 2014 and COP26 seven years later to ensure visitors and VIPs smelled only fresh paint.

“If the Commonwealth Games return, the people of Glasgow deserve to know their city will be cleaned up for good. Ministers need to trigger the necessary funding and the council needs to urgently secure a visitors’ levy to pay for a deep clean.”

First Minister John Swinney has repeatedly stated that no public money will be spent on the slimmed-down 11-day sporting event, which will feature no marathon or road cycling races to keep costs down.

Adding to Slaven’s comments, Chris Mitchell, GMB Scotland Representative in Glasgow City Council’s cleansing department, said: “The crisis is clear but so is the solution. We need more workers, more collections and more pest control officers.”

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A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council said it would be impossible to introduce a tourist levy before the Games, but asked citizens to keeping littering at a minimum.

“Glasgow has a fantastic track record at delivering major events and event organisers are always full of praise for the city. We have frontline environmental teams working every day throughout the city to keep Glasgow in good order.

“Our recently expanded street cleansing team is up to 470 strong and this includes the Deep Clean Team, which works through every city ward to tackle stubborn grime, [and other environmental issues.]

“We will always seek to strengthen our team when resources allow. But research shows litter is dropped every three seconds in Glasgow and so residents and visitors have a crucial role to play by ensuring all litter goes in one of the city’s 5500 public litter bins."

The spokesperson added, “while a visitor levy is being considered in the city, due to the required legal process it is not possible for a levy to be applied in advance of the Games.”