Saturday, 6 February 2010
North Ayrshire Council
Just a quick note to our readers in North Ayrshire - there has been a slight administrative delay in getting all the letters out to people as indicated previously - but this should be completed by the end of the week (i.e. Friday 12 February).
Friday, 5 February 2010
North Lanarkshire Council
Here's a copy of a letter to the Leader of North Lanarkshire Council - Councillor Jim McCabe.
Action 4 Equality Scotland will be encouraging clients in North Lanarkshire to lobby their MPs, MSPs and local councillors - in the run up to the vital GMF hearing in April.
More and more councils are entering into settlement negotiations - our aim is to persuade North Lanarkshire to do the same - more details will follow.
Action 4 Equality Scotland
44 York Place
Edinburgh
EH1 3HU
22 January 2010
Councillor Jim McCabe
Leader of North Lanarkshire Council
By e-mail
Dear Councillor McCabe
North Lanarkshire Council and Equal Pay
As you may know, Action 4 Equality Scotland is currently pursuing 1808 equal pay claims, in the Employment Tribunals, against North Lanarkshire Council.
The majority of these cases are known as RAE (rated as equivalent) claims because the jobs involved have already been rated or valued under a common job evaluation scheme; in this case the one contained in the old Manual Workers Green Book.
The Local Government and Communities committee of the Scottish Parliament recently urged councils in Scotland to address these RAE claims on a pragmatic basis because the underlying legal issues involved are very straightforward and, broadly speaking, the employers have little, if any, chance of successfully defending their position.
The Employment Tribunal has set firm dates in April 2010 for a GMF (Genuine Material Factor) hearing of the North Lanarkshire Council cases. At this hearing, the council will be required to explain and justify what it now accepts were the discriminatory pay arrangements that applied previously (to these RAE claimants) in low paid, predominantly female, manual worker jobs.
We have instructed Daphne Romney, QC – one of the country’s leading equal pay barristers – to represent our clients at the North Lanarkshire GMF hearing. Daphne Romney was also instructed for the GMF hearing involving Glasgow City Council in 2009.
Action 4 Equality Scotland has negotiated settlements with various other councils in the recent past including: Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling, North Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, Aberdeenshire and East Ayrshire councils. Active settlement discussions are also underway with Falkirk and East Lothian councils
I am approaching you in the same spirit to see if North Lanarkshire Council is prepared to reach a fair and reasonable settlement of the outstanding claims. If so, then a GMF hearing may not need to proceed, thus saving the council considerable time and expense.
MSPs and MPs have shown an interest in this subject. I am copying this letter to those in the North Lanarkshire Council area, so they know that Action 4 Equality Scotland is prepared to act responsibly and negotiate on behalf of clients in North Lanarkshire, as elsewhere.
If council officials are interested in taking up this offer, we are happy to meet on an informal ‘without prejudice’ basis in the first instance, to assess what progress can be made.
Kind regards
Mark Irvine
cc Gavin Whitefield, Chief Executive – North Lanarkshire Council
Action 4 Equality Scotland will be encouraging clients in North Lanarkshire to lobby their MPs, MSPs and local councillors - in the run up to the vital GMF hearing in April.
More and more councils are entering into settlement negotiations - our aim is to persuade North Lanarkshire to do the same - more details will follow.
Action 4 Equality Scotland
44 York Place
Edinburgh
EH1 3HU
22 January 2010
Councillor Jim McCabe
Leader of North Lanarkshire Council
By e-mail
Dear Councillor McCabe
North Lanarkshire Council and Equal Pay
As you may know, Action 4 Equality Scotland is currently pursuing 1808 equal pay claims, in the Employment Tribunals, against North Lanarkshire Council.
The majority of these cases are known as RAE (rated as equivalent) claims because the jobs involved have already been rated or valued under a common job evaluation scheme; in this case the one contained in the old Manual Workers Green Book.
The Local Government and Communities committee of the Scottish Parliament recently urged councils in Scotland to address these RAE claims on a pragmatic basis because the underlying legal issues involved are very straightforward and, broadly speaking, the employers have little, if any, chance of successfully defending their position.
The Employment Tribunal has set firm dates in April 2010 for a GMF (Genuine Material Factor) hearing of the North Lanarkshire Council cases. At this hearing, the council will be required to explain and justify what it now accepts were the discriminatory pay arrangements that applied previously (to these RAE claimants) in low paid, predominantly female, manual worker jobs.
We have instructed Daphne Romney, QC – one of the country’s leading equal pay barristers – to represent our clients at the North Lanarkshire GMF hearing. Daphne Romney was also instructed for the GMF hearing involving Glasgow City Council in 2009.
Action 4 Equality Scotland has negotiated settlements with various other councils in the recent past including: Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling, North Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, Aberdeenshire and East Ayrshire councils. Active settlement discussions are also underway with Falkirk and East Lothian councils
I am approaching you in the same spirit to see if North Lanarkshire Council is prepared to reach a fair and reasonable settlement of the outstanding claims. If so, then a GMF hearing may not need to proceed, thus saving the council considerable time and expense.
MSPs and MPs have shown an interest in this subject. I am copying this letter to those in the North Lanarkshire Council area, so they know that Action 4 Equality Scotland is prepared to act responsibly and negotiate on behalf of clients in North Lanarkshire, as elsewhere.
If council officials are interested in taking up this offer, we are happy to meet on an informal ‘without prejudice’ basis in the first instance, to assess what progress can be made.
Kind regards
Mark Irvine
cc Gavin Whitefield, Chief Executive – North Lanarkshire Council
Thursday, 4 February 2010
MPs' Expenses - Payback Time
More than half of the MPs in the House of Commons (390) have been held to account for submitting inflated expenses claims - an astonishing figure.
One that confirms just what a racket the system had become - a licence for many MPs to line their pockets at public expense.
The scandal has only come to light because of dogged use of the Freedom of Information Act - along with newspapers finally flushing out the truth - notably The Telegraph.
Here's a brief summary of a report in today's paper (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/).
"MPs' expenses: 350 ordered to pay back £1m on their claims"
"More than 350 MPs have been ordered to repay over £1 million following an inquiry into their expense claims over the past five years by Sir Thomas Legg.
Sir Thomas, the head of the inquiry, will on Thursday criticise MPs for establishing a “culture of deference” to develop which allowed abuse of the system to flourish.
He will detail his findings in a report which will set out the repayments he has ordered from 350 MPs. The former mandarin, appointed in the wake of the expenses scandal, will make it clear that he thought the entire system was corrupt, according to a well-placed source.
However, the review of Commons expenses was plunged into chaos after it emerged that dozens of MPs have been allowed to dodge repayment demands.
A high-court judge appointed to hear MPs’ appeals against the Legg review findings is understood to have been sympathetic to politicians’ complaints.
Sir Paul Kennedy has told MPs he understands why they are “irritated” that Sir Thomas introduced retrospective limits on cleaning and gardening.
The limits have led to dozens of MPs, including the Prime Minister, being ordered to repay money.
The findings of the Legg review will be published alongside the results of 73 appeals heard by Sir Paul Kennedy, a retired high court judge.
The Parliamentary authorities will also release further details of MPs claims for their offices and travel over the 2008-09 financial year.
The Daily Telegraph has established that Sir Paul has allowed a substantial number of the appeals, sometimes cutting the amounts to be repaid by five-figure sums.
At least 30 of the 73 who appealed have had their repayments scrapped or reduced.
In other cases, he said that he sympathised with their arguments, but was unable to let them off because he had no power to change the terms of the review by scrapping the retrospective limits altogether.
“The Legg review is very critical of MPs behaviour and blames them, rather than the Fees Office, for allowing abuses to develop,” the source said.
“There will be a co-ordinated effort to trash Sir Thomas’s efforts. Sir Paul Kennedy has expressed sympathy for the plight of MPs but ultimately has said that the Legg team were right to impose some rules.”
One that confirms just what a racket the system had become - a licence for many MPs to line their pockets at public expense.
The scandal has only come to light because of dogged use of the Freedom of Information Act - along with newspapers finally flushing out the truth - notably The Telegraph.
Here's a brief summary of a report in today's paper (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/).
"MPs' expenses: 350 ordered to pay back £1m on their claims"
"More than 350 MPs have been ordered to repay over £1 million following an inquiry into their expense claims over the past five years by Sir Thomas Legg.
Sir Thomas, the head of the inquiry, will on Thursday criticise MPs for establishing a “culture of deference” to develop which allowed abuse of the system to flourish.
He will detail his findings in a report which will set out the repayments he has ordered from 350 MPs. The former mandarin, appointed in the wake of the expenses scandal, will make it clear that he thought the entire system was corrupt, according to a well-placed source.
However, the review of Commons expenses was plunged into chaos after it emerged that dozens of MPs have been allowed to dodge repayment demands.
A high-court judge appointed to hear MPs’ appeals against the Legg review findings is understood to have been sympathetic to politicians’ complaints.
Sir Paul Kennedy has told MPs he understands why they are “irritated” that Sir Thomas introduced retrospective limits on cleaning and gardening.
The limits have led to dozens of MPs, including the Prime Minister, being ordered to repay money.
The findings of the Legg review will be published alongside the results of 73 appeals heard by Sir Paul Kennedy, a retired high court judge.
The Parliamentary authorities will also release further details of MPs claims for their offices and travel over the 2008-09 financial year.
The Daily Telegraph has established that Sir Paul has allowed a substantial number of the appeals, sometimes cutting the amounts to be repaid by five-figure sums.
At least 30 of the 73 who appealed have had their repayments scrapped or reduced.
In other cases, he said that he sympathised with their arguments, but was unable to let them off because he had no power to change the terms of the review by scrapping the retrospective limits altogether.
“The Legg review is very critical of MPs behaviour and blames them, rather than the Fees Office, for allowing abuses to develop,” the source said.
“There will be a co-ordinated effort to trash Sir Thomas’s efforts. Sir Paul Kennedy has expressed sympathy for the plight of MPs but ultimately has said that the Legg team were right to impose some rules.”
Globespan Campaign
Action 4 Equality Scotland has been been inundated with enquiries from former Globespan employees - following the recent posts on the blog site.
We are about to send out further information to everyone who has been in touch - this will explain things in more detail - and take the campaign forward to the next stage.
If readers know of any former Globespan employees that wants to be involved - ask them to get in touch.
All we need is the following information - as this will allow us to put people on an Action 4 Equality Scotland mailing and e-mailing list.
1 Name
2 Address and post code
3 E-mail address
4 Contact phone number
5 Job title and former place of work
The information can be phoned in to the Action 4 Equality Scotland offfice on 0131 652 7366 or e-mailed to Mark Irvine at: markirvine@compuserve.com
We are about to send out further information to everyone who has been in touch - this will explain things in more detail - and take the campaign forward to the next stage.
If readers know of any former Globespan employees that wants to be involved - ask them to get in touch.
All we need is the following information - as this will allow us to put people on an Action 4 Equality Scotland mailing and e-mailing list.
1 Name
2 Address and post code
3 E-mail address
4 Contact phone number
5 Job title and former place of work
The information can be phoned in to the Action 4 Equality Scotland offfice on 0131 652 7366 or e-mailed to Mark Irvine at: markirvine@compuserve.com
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
A Big Thank You!
One of our regular male readers has been in touch - to say a few kind words.
"A big 'thank you' to Action 4 Equality Scotland for all your help with my equal pay claim.
I'm over the moon at the outcome and can't thank you enough.
We were told by our trade union at the time not to take up an equal pay claim and to have nothing to do with Action 4 Equality Scotland.
But I'm really glad I ignored their advice because it's the best thing I've ever done.
Good luck and best wishes for the future."
Self-praise is no praise, as they say - but the honest thoughts of a satisfied client - make it all worthwhile.
"A big 'thank you' to Action 4 Equality Scotland for all your help with my equal pay claim.
I'm over the moon at the outcome and can't thank you enough.
We were told by our trade union at the time not to take up an equal pay claim and to have nothing to do with Action 4 Equality Scotland.
But I'm really glad I ignored their advice because it's the best thing I've ever done.
Good luck and best wishes for the future."
Self-praise is no praise, as they say - but the honest thoughts of a satisfied client - make it all worthwhile.
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
Action 4 Equality Scotland
Action 4 Equality Scotland has opened a major new office in Edinburgh - our friends and readers will be delighted to hear. The office contact details are as follows:
Action 4 Equality Scotland
44 York Place
Edinburgh
EH1 3HU
Phone Number
0131 652 7366
Fax Number
0131 652 7369
Over recent weeks, Action 4 Equality Scotland has been recruiting staff, installing new equipment and so on – but finally all the pieces of the jigsaw are in place.
The Edinburgh office is now fully operational and becomes - with immediate effect - the new point of contact for all existing clients in Scotland – and for new ones as well.
The office will provide a platform for Action 4 Equality to grow and expand the services we've provided to thousands of public service workers in Scotland - over the past five years.
Action 4 Equality Scotland arrived on the scene in August 2005 - and has made a huge difference to many people's lives – by forcing equal pay back up to the top of the agenda.
For the first time in a long time - employers’ are finally beginning to take the issue seriously.
But before we came along equal pay was dead in the water – with employers and unions talking the issue to death - instead of getting on with the job in hand.
Decisive action in the courts was needed to break the logjam - after so many years of empty rhetoric and broken promises.
Action 4 Equality Scotland turned this situation around - we continue to lead the fight on equal pay - and while a lot has been achieved up until now - there’s still much more to do.
And Action 4 Equality Scotland's new operation in Edinburgh - is a sign that we're here to stay.
Action 4 Equality Scotland
44 York Place
Edinburgh
EH1 3HU
Phone Number
0131 652 7366
Fax Number
0131 652 7369
Over recent weeks, Action 4 Equality Scotland has been recruiting staff, installing new equipment and so on – but finally all the pieces of the jigsaw are in place.
The Edinburgh office is now fully operational and becomes - with immediate effect - the new point of contact for all existing clients in Scotland – and for new ones as well.
The office will provide a platform for Action 4 Equality to grow and expand the services we've provided to thousands of public service workers in Scotland - over the past five years.
Action 4 Equality Scotland arrived on the scene in August 2005 - and has made a huge difference to many people's lives – by forcing equal pay back up to the top of the agenda.
For the first time in a long time - employers’ are finally beginning to take the issue seriously.
But before we came along equal pay was dead in the water – with employers and unions talking the issue to death - instead of getting on with the job in hand.
Decisive action in the courts was needed to break the logjam - after so many years of empty rhetoric and broken promises.
Action 4 Equality Scotland turned this situation around - we continue to lead the fight on equal pay - and while a lot has been achieved up until now - there’s still much more to do.
And Action 4 Equality Scotland's new operation in Edinburgh - is a sign that we're here to stay.
Monday, 1 February 2010
An End To Secrecy
Labour party leaders at Holyrood are calling for an 'end to secrecy' - over the Scottish government's capital spending programme.
Refreshingly, Labour (in opposition) are demanding that things are brought out into the open - so that the public can judge for themselves what the government is planning and doing - in their name.
South Lanarkshire Council is, of course, a Labour-led council - and has been for many years.
Yet, South Lanarkshire's fondness for secrecy seems to know no bounds - people can't even find out what groups of gardeners or refuse workers get paid - compared to carers, classroom assistants and catering workers.
So, why the big difference between the Labour party's attitude in Edinburgh - compared to South Lanarkshire?
Who knows - but we'll be doing our level best to find the answer.
Refreshingly, Labour (in opposition) are demanding that things are brought out into the open - so that the public can judge for themselves what the government is planning and doing - in their name.
South Lanarkshire Council is, of course, a Labour-led council - and has been for many years.
Yet, South Lanarkshire's fondness for secrecy seems to know no bounds - people can't even find out what groups of gardeners or refuse workers get paid - compared to carers, classroom assistants and catering workers.
So, why the big difference between the Labour party's attitude in Edinburgh - compared to South Lanarkshire?
Who knows - but we'll be doing our level best to find the answer.
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