Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson has prompted anger with comments about volunteering roles for the city's hosting of the Eurovision Song Contest later this year.
Last week Liverpool City Council's culture team put out a call for volunteers to help with the organising of Eurovision in Liverpool. In a statement on the Culture Liverpool website it states: "Eurovision Needs You! As Liverpool prepares to welcome thousands of visitors to the city for an iconic worldwide event this May, we are opening volunteering opportunities for our local community."
Around 500 volunteering roles have been created to support the delivery of the event, with volunteers set to be located in the city centre, at Liverpool ONE, the Pier Head and at key transport hubs around the city. The advert adds: "Volunteering is an opportunity to meet new people, gain skills and make great memories. It is a rewarding experience to feel part of a team and to have contributed to an event that will be talked about for decades."
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The council's own post about these opportunities prompted plenty of anger, with many stating that people should be paid for their efforts to support a huge commercial event like Eurovision.
The comments led to a response from the Trades Union Congress, which stated: "We’ve had a number of people ask questions about this scheme and we’re contacting the council to find out more. Workers should be paid, and these advertised roles look like more than people might expect from volunteers."
In response, Mayor Joanne Anderson tweeted: "Volunteering is an integral part of holding large events in the UK. The Trade Union and labour movement have been built on volunteer time. I have given hours and hours of free time to the labour movement - even paid subs for the privilege."
Her comments also sparked plenty of objections and criticism. One commenter, Peter Tully, described the Mayor's words as a "horrible take," adding: "These should be paid roles and the fact a Labour mayor is pushing unpaid labour details why so many are turning away from Labour in the local elections." Abi O'Connor added: "Trade union labour is not the equivalent of free labour for a commercial event like Eurovision. There is no comparison."
Several trade union officials also responded. Carl Roper of the TUC said: "Joanne, with respect these are cleaning and catering jobs. "Surely you don't think someone should clean artists dressing rooms without being paid? To equate this to the work of union reps and activists is seriously disingenuous."
Jay McKenna added: "Volunteering has a specific role - we know that having been part of memorandums of understanding and agreements around major events. But there seems to be a difference here given the ‘reward’ for doing so and the responsibilities entailed."
Responding to the comments, Liverpool Councillor's culture lead Cllr Harry Doyle said he was willing to meet with union officials. He added: "I think a few things need clearing up as we have a fantastic volunteer/ambassador program. (It) will be good to give more detail about the events that form Eurovision as a whole where our ambassadors will be based."
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