All 40 Council employees based at Stonefield Public Park, Blantyre threatened to strike during April 1977 after being unfairly treated over bonuses.
The park workers had been ‘promised’ incentive bonuses from bosses, which had been told would apply since local government had changed in 1975 (Strathclyde Regional Council). The bonuses amounted to nearly £10/week and workers felt, that parks in the District, including Blantyre had been sufficiently looked after that they should be paid, fair and square.
The workers representative met with the Council Director of Personnel, Mr Love and agreed they would hold fire on the strike on the basis of recognising that something was due. The complaint was that other park council workers in other towns, get this incentivised bonus every year for meeting their targets with maintenance and the upkeep of parks, yet Blantyre and Larkhall seemed to be missing out, despite those same targets being met.
It was proven Council workers were paid the park bonuses in Cambuslang, despite their targets being less than Blantyre. Finding this out, was the last straw with the insurrection in Blantyre prompted not just by the unrecognised hard work of Blantyre workers, but suffering the indignity of watching others get paid bonuses for lesser accomplishments.
It is true and fair to say that Blantyre parks looked very different back then. Well kept, maintained, pretty, something made more possible by this small army of council workers. Certainly when you look back at photos of the park in the 1960’s and 70’s, they were due every penny!
and now. I know which I prefer!
On Social Media, the following comments were received on Facebook:
Blantyre Project Crying out for a ‘Friends of Stonefield Park’ group. Edging paths, beds of flowers, I’m sure community groups would donate equipment and plants for this.
Maureen Skeffington Chalmers Blantyre Project I tried! Told there were too many groups already but I still think it would be excellent!
Catherine McCormack The park had it’s own gardeners and a place at the top of the park to grow it’s own plants too.xx
Isabel Mcneily How could it possibly come to this!
Mary Dawson It’s nothing short of a disgrace that this park was allowed to get into the state it is in today. It was a beautiful sight to see and that was thanks to the dedicated workers who maintained it. I don’t even remember any vandalism as I am sure the Blantyre folks were so proud of it. I know I was.
Maureen Friery Moran Mary Dawson I agree with you. It was a beautiful park and well used and loved by the people of Blantyre.
Pat Harvey Was the hub of Blantyre when we were kids in the 60s and 70s Amazing place to spend a summers day..sad to see it like this.
Eleanor Ferguson Kelly I remember the park well, it was beautiful.
Jim Mccoll i for one would definitely like to help out with any improvements to this once beautiful park, it,s a shame to see the state it,s in today.
Sadie Crawford We also had the putting green, the boating pond, the paddling pool and swings etc. What a beautiful park it was .
Drew Fisher I don’t live it Blantyre now but it is quite concerning that in 2024 our parks at Stonefield, Broompark Road, Greenhall, Calder and HB Cross, not to mention the cemetery, are so poor compared what they were in the 1960s. Are we so poor now we cannot maintain them? Should Council Tax increases bit to improve parks in the town? What other alternatives do we have? I hate to think what we are leaving our children and grandchildren. Rant over!
Jim Canning Could a volunteer group (Bonnie Blantyre) not take over a patch, and plant a few flowers. Can’t wait for the Council to do it.
John Joahnsonn Well the council leaders do get 6 figure salaries even now, so they don’t care how Blantyre or the rest of Lanarkshire looks !!! Vote them in and that’s what you get.
Carol Crombie It was the most beautiful park when I was a wee girl.
Anthony Smith Beautiful park then
Anne Irvine What a sorry site
Frank Mc Allum Just wait until next year, when they are only going to cut half of stonefieid park because of the cuts.
Margaret Brown Burns Our beautiful park then and the aroma you could smell just passing by was delightful but look at it now not a flower to be seen.
Margaret Stewart The accessible housing built there was greatly needed but should never have been built on this part of the park. The far side on John street would have been much a much better location. In my opinion.
Margaret Brown Burns Margaret Stewart the PUBLIC Park was just that public there was ,at the time , plenty of empty spaces the houses could and should have been built. I agree Margaret Stewart the John St side would have been better
Julie Brown Margaret Stewart Margaret brown burns. There weren’t any flowers where the sheltered housing was built. Where the arch is and the surrounding grounds is still there till this day, it’s just empty of flowers or maintenance.
Margaret Stewart Julie Brown you may be right about the fact that there were no flowers where the houses were built but my point is the far end of the park was a better area being grass and ash pitches with a road already in place for access
Elaine Speirs Julie Brown The arch was moved. Thats not the original location
Winifred McLure No wonder it looked so good then with 40 workers employed to maintain the parks in Blantyre.how many is there now to do that now I wonder ?
William Allan Winifred McLuretake it up with your councillors there the one’s that voted for the cuts to maintain the park