04 Jul 2017 Culture

Greer hits out as Green Day gig staff go unpaid

Ross Greer MSP, Culture spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, today (4 July) hit out at the cancellation of the sell-out Green Day concert at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow.

The band’s promoters announced the cancellation at 1.30pm, just half an hour before the gates were due to open, blaming bad weather.

Hundreds of staff who had begun working at the gig were told over two hours in to their shift that they would not be paid.

Ross Greer MSP said:

“The disruption to fans is bad enough but to hear reports of people who had agreed to work at the gig being denied payment through no fault of their own is just completely unacceptable. The companies involved can argue over whose fault this was and make their insurance claims but they cannot avoid compensating staff who turn up for work in good faith. This episode shows why the ‘gig economy’ of zero-hours contracts, insecure work, low-pay and poor conditions needs to end, otherwise exploitation will continue.

“A last-minute cancellation raises many questions for the promoters and for Glasgow City Council as hosts. Green councillors will be looking for answers so Glasgow avoids a repeat of this kind of chaos.”