Disbanding of Glasgow team supporting Ukrainian refugees 'forced through'

The GMB union has lodged a formal grievance with the council, which declared a housing emergency last month, and said no changes should now take place until the plans are fully detailed and discussed with staff.

The team has helped settle thousands of refugees seeking sanctuary in the wake of the Russian invasion and there are concerns that the merger will threaten the lifeline support.

The workers' complaint, which has been discussed by union officers and management at the council claims that, after months of uncertainty, staff were only told of the wide-ranging changes to their role in December.

READ MORE: Fears for hundreds in Scotland over government asylum backlog plan

The union said requests for details of the rumoured changes had been ignored for months along with attempts to raise the concerns of staff.

GMB Scotland said workers had been initially told pressure on refugee case workers was expected to increase because of new Home Office targets but they would retain their specialist role. However, they were suddenly told they would be merged into the general service.

Keir Greenaway, GMB Scotland senior organiser in public services, said: “The commitment of the team resettling Ukrainian refugees in Glasgow has been widely commended and used as a template by other councils for how this crucial work should be carried out.

“It makes no sense to risk that expertise but to do so with such haste and lack of consultation shows absolutely no respect for staff who have gone above and beyond to help and support refugees seeking safety from war."

Glasgow City Council made the symbolic housing emergency declaration last month in the wake of concerns over social unrest following moves to accelerate the clearance of a backlog of asylum claims by the Home Office.

The council has been considering legal action against the Home Office as it fears it will breach the law through being unable to cope with the backlog.

The Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) - an amalgamation of Glasgow City Council and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde which delivers community health and social care services - has already said there is a need to find alternative temporary accommodation with the use of rest centres to be able to cope.

The concerns over the resettlement team comes after research suggested Ukrainian families across Scotland were facing homelessness and destitution this winter.

The British Red Cross said Ukrainians in the UK are four times more likely to face homelessness and warned 335 families will have applied for homelessness support in Scotland by the end of March.

And even more families will be caught up in more immediate “core homelessness” like sofa surfing, staying in unsuitable temporary accommodation and rough sleeping.

The charity’s research, by Professor Glen Bramley, of Heriot-Watt University, predicts the number of Ukrainian families homeless will continue at crisis levels until at least 2025.

Mr Greenaway added: “These staff deserve much better than to be steamrollered into new roles with no discussion or debate.

“For many reasons, not least the plight of Ukrainian refugees in the city and the welfare of their staff, Glasgow City Council needs to pause and begin a proper consultation.”

At the talks on Friday to discuss the union’s grievance, managers insisted staff had been consulted but were warned, if they tried to press ahead with the changes, GMB Scotland intends to seek the intervention of the mediation service Acas.

On Wednesday during a debate on UK asylum policies in Scotland, Paul Sweeney told the Scottish Parliament the planned loss of the specialist service in Glasgow risked vital work when Ukrainians in Scotland are already more likely to be homeless than the general population.

He said: The work of the Ukrainian refugee team is vital in ensuring their smooth transition from asylum accommodation.

“This merger will only increase the chance of Ukrainian refugees slipping through the cracks and ending up without a roof over their heads.”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 resulted in millions of people being displaced, both within Ukraine and across Europe.

By October 17, 25,891 displaced people from Ukraine had arrived in the UK with a Scottish sponsor – one of the three ways in which displaced people from Ukraine can obtain visas for the UK.

The Scottish Government took on a key role in the operation of the Sponsorship Scheme by acting as a super sponsor.

The MS Victoria, docked in Leith, accommodated Ukrainians

As at June 2023, there were around 3,900 Ukrainian nationals, who registered for active employment in Scotland. In 2002 there were just 50.

A Scottish Government survey indicates that as at September 29, 2023, 2,843 Ukrainian children were enrolled in primary and secondary schools across Scotland.

To create temporary accommodation capacity, the Scottish Government used hotel rooms and chartered two passenger ships – docked in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The ship docked in Glasgow, the MS Ambition, provided accommodation for nearly 1,500 people until March 2023 and the ship docked in Edinburgh, the MS Victoria, accommodated nearly 2000 displaced people from Ukraine until July 4.

By the end of last year, Glasgow was said to be home to 2000 Ukrainians living across six hotels and the MS Ambition, a repurposed cruise ship, but the specialist resettlement unit helped find them longer-term homes.

It is understood that only around 200 Ukrainians are living in hotels while around 600 more are with hosts in the city or living in housing association flats.

However, staff say, more are expected to arrive in the city from around Scotland when refurbished flats become available next year while the situation in Ukraine remains uncertain.

Of passengers disembarking the MS Ambition since January 5, 2023, as of October, Scottish Government estimates show that 33% went into alternative temporary accommodation, 7% went into hosted accommodation, 29% went into social housing and 30% went into “unknown or other accommodation”.

Of passengers disembarking the MS Victoria since April 2023, 72% went into alternative temporary accommodation, 1% went into hosted accommodation, 3% went into social housing and 23% went into “unknown or other accommodation”.

Meanwhile it is feared it will cost the “already stretched” homelessness service in and around Glasgow more than £53m in 2024/25 to deal with a general asylum backlog, but officials have been told that the UK government will not provide financial support.

An HSCP spokeswoman said: “We have been working with the union and staff since December. There has been numerous and regular meetings and staff engagement sessions. The scale of work for the Ukrainian resettlement team has reduced significantly, while the demand for asylum and refugee support has increased.

"Staff will continue their superb work to support those who have fled Ukraine, but it is crucial that we pull our resources together.”