Walk this way

Unite construction members are making final preparations this weekend, before starting a five day hike along the iconic West Highland Way on Monday (4 May) to raise money for a Scottish Hospice.

The four Glaswegian construction workers have been training hard over the last few months in preparation for the 96-mile trail, where they are aiming to raise £20,000 for the city’s Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice as part of their employer’s 20th anniversary celebrations.

Darren Burrows, Chris Devlin, Steven McGurk and Brian Sutherland are all employees at City Building, and will take on the iconic long-distance route in reverse, starting in Fort William and finishing in Milngavie, tackling the most challenging sections first.

By reversing the route, the group hopes colleagues, friends and family will be able to join them for the final stages of the journey as they approach Glasgow, creating a strong community finish to the fundraising effort.

The challenge forms part of City Building’s 20th anniversary programme, which will see employees across the organisation take part in a range of community initiatives throughout the year.

City Building chose to support Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice after discovering that this was the first charity they supported when established in 2006.

Darren, who is a joiner Unite rep and branch secretary, at City Building said, “Myself and fellow JTUC members from Unison and Community are hitting the trail on Monday 4th May 2026 at Fort William and plan to finish on Friday 9th May in Milngavie.”

“The training has been going well and everyone is looking forward to getting started, more importantly people have been very generous, and we have nearly achieved our fundraising target – though we are always happy to welcome more donations to help the hospice.”

Unite Construction member Tam Glavin chairs the Joint Trade Union Committee, and will be playing a support role on the trek at City Building. Tam said: “We wanted to mark City Building turning 20 with something meaningful. When we spoke as a team, we realised we had all seen first-hand the incredible work carried out by Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice, so it felt right to give something back.

“With more than 1,800 employees across City Building, we wanted to make sure as many colleagues as possible could get involved. By doing the route in reverse and finishing in Milngavie, it gives people the chance to join us towards the end and celebrate together.

“We’ve been training hard and have already completed a few stages of the route. It’s a tough challenge, but it’s for a fantastic local cause and if we could hit our £20,000 target, it would make such a difference to our community.

“This challenge is also about raising awareness of the incredible work the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice does for people in their time of need – and that these people could easily be some of our members.

“We want to highlight the vital role that our trade union branches do collectively in supporting the community and demonstrate what we can achieve when we come together as a united workforce.”

City Building was established in 2006 with a unique social ethos of creating employment and training opportunities for disadvantaged groups in the Glasgow area. It runs one of Scotland’s largest apprenticeship programmes and operates its own training college – the only one of its kind to offer SQA-approved qualifications.

City’s Building’s manufacturing division, RSBi, is Europe’s largest supported business and a leading UK social enterprise, employing more than 200 people — over half of whom have a disability.

Maureen Dowden, chair of City Building, said: “It’s a fantastic way for the Joint Trade Unions Committee to mark City Building’s 20th anniversary.

“Everyone from staff to board members at Wheatley and City Building (Glasgow) is fully behind their efforts as they take on this massive challenge over 96 miles.

“The Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice provides outstanding, compassionate care to people and families when they need it most. By supporting this fundraiser, our colleagues are helping the hospice continue its vital work across the city.”

Donations can be made to the team’s JustGiving page here.

By Keith Hatch