EUSA has had major problems in retaining bar and steward staff at Potterow for the past year, Student can reveal.

EUSA has had major problems in retaining bar and steward staff at Potterow for the past year, Student can reveal.

The union was so understaffed during Freshers’ week, one of the busiest times of year, that agency staff had to be hired instead of students for the first time in at least three years, at greater cost to EUSA.

Even so, on one night student representatives had to be asked to help behind the bar.

It has been claimed that the exodus is linked to a difficult working environment at Potterow. Most staff work for minimum wage, beginning from 7 to 9pm, serving for six hours on end and some cleaning for another two hours, often having to deal with an unappreciative clientele.

Staff have claimed the situation has been exacerbated by decisions from upper management of EUSA including the cancellation of the staff party at the end of the festival in August, a period when staff would often work eight to ten hour shifts for six days a week.

Staff drinks, where staff are given a complimentary drink at the end of a shift, were recently ended in an effort to cut costs, though this decision is still under review.

“Potterow is a job with highly unsociable hours, little pay and a seeming lack of appreciation from our employers, who are supposed to have our best interests at heart”, said one former member of staff.

George Thomas, Vice President Services of EUSA, confirmed that there were definitely agency staff hired but denied that EUSA is having problems in retaining long term staff.

He described the outflow of staff as “perfectly normal”, claiming that “many staff leave at the end of every Festival, as many will be going into third or fourth year and decide that they need to focus on their studies”.

He also said that; “obviously use of student staff would be preferable, as they would be more committed and know the venues better, the cost of agency staff is only marginally more expensive per hour, and offset by the fact that they are brought in for shorter periods of time.”