Glasgow World Championships hit with strike disruption

The super World Championships taking place in Glasgow are set to be hit with disruption today and tomorrow after workers at the velodrome and parking in the city voted to go on strike.

Around 70 workers from across the city walked out this morning for 48 hours in a dispute over pay.

Pickets are being held outside the Emirates Arena, where the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, which is hosting the track competitions, is.

The Unite union, which organised the strikes has been in a dispute with the city’s parking services and Glasgow Life, which runs facilities across the city, over pay.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said  workers have “no option” but to take strike action. The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) has offered workers across a host of council services a 5% pay rise for 2023, which Graham said amounted to a “real terms pay cut” while inflation runs at 10.7%.

She added: “Any disruption caused is due to the chronic failure by Glasgow City Council, COSLA and the Scottish Government to improve on the 5% offer which has been overwhelmingly rejected.

“Unite fully supports its members who are leading the fight for better jobs, pay and conditions across local government. We will be with them every step of the way to ensure they get what they deserve.” 

Unite Scotland’s industrial officer, Graham McNab. repeated a call for the Scottish Government to intervene to break an impasse between COSAL and the Unions. He added: “The only way this dispute will be resolved is if an improved offer is put on the table for workers who deserve better from their elected representatives.”

A spokesperson for Glasgow Life said: “We have been preparing to mitigate against planned industrial action involving our venues’ hosting of the 2023 Cycling World Championships for several weeks. 

"Therefore, we are confident we can continue to minimise any impact on event delivery that this action may have.”

The events that take place at the track today, that could be disrupted include the men's scratch race, the women’s team sprint the men’s B individual pursuit and the women’s individual pursuit.