Equality in Glasgow
I came across the previous post to the blog site - on an EHRC investigation into Glasgow City Council - which dates back to March 2009.
Now I don't know about anyone else - but I think that almost three years is a veritable lifetime in politics - yet no more has been heard from the EHRC during all this time.
Yet the strange things is that nothing seems to have been heard from Glasgow's politicians either - including the Labour ones - many of whom like to portray themselves as champions and great supporters of equality issues.
The whole business of Glasgow's WPBR is going to spring back to life later this year - and I'll take the opportunity to remind readers as to what the dispute is all about - in the run up to the local council elections in May.
Equality Watchdog Investigates Glasgow (26 March 2009)
Scotland’s equality watchdog (The Equality and Human Rights Commission) has launched a formal investigation into whether Glasgow City Council has acted in breach of the Equal Pay Act 1970.
This is a major development and is the first formal investigation into local government pay in the UK.
The Commission is embarking on an investigation because it has grounds to suspect that Glasgow City Council has acted in breach of the Equal Pay Act in developing and implementing its Workforce Pay and Benefits Review (WPBR).
The Commission intends to:
1. Identify the grades and all associated rates of pay for men and women – prior to the introduction of WPBR in September 2006
2. Identify the grades and all associated rates of pay for men and women – after the implementation of WPBR (as at 31 October 2008)
3. Use this information to determine whether male jobs have received more favourable treatment
Welcoming the announcement, Mark Irvine said:
“The Commission is to be congratulated for taking this stand. Glasgow City Council promised to end pay discrimination against female dominated jobs in 1999, but the council did nothing for several years until Action 4 Equality Scotland and Stefan Cross began explaining the rights of women council workers to pursue an equal pay claim to the Employment Tribunals”
“Glasgow was finally forced to act, but in the process the council abandoned the nationally recommended job evaluation scheme (developed with £250,000 of public money) and introduced its own ‘in-house’ scheme (WPBR). The Commission now plans to scrutinise the WPBR and has asked Stefan Cross Solicitors to help with their investigation in view of the 5,000 claims Stefan Cross is pursuing against Glasgow”.
“Action 4 Equality Scotland has consistently highlighted the failings of Glasgow’s WPBR. We believe the WPBR treats many male workers more favourably than female groups – to the tune of thousands of pounds a year. The unions have been silent on the issue for the last 3 years, so it’s great news for women workers that the Equality Commission now intends to shine a light on what’s been going on in Glasgow”, added Mr Irvine.
NB See previous posts on the Glasgow WPBR - ‘Points Mean Prizes’ and ‘Task and Finish’.
