Union Advice (05/04/14)


A reader from South Lanarkshire contacted me to say that the local Unison branch has sent round an email telling people that they have to contact the union's Glasgow office, if they wish to pursue an equal pay claim.

Now this doesn't surprise me, I have to say. 

Because this is the same local Unison branch that was telling its members that equal pay had been sorted years ago and that there was no point in people pursuing equal pay claims against South Lanarkshire Council. 

But how silly and ridiculous does that advice look now?

If you ask me the union branch officials in South Lanarkshire should all resign, if they had any integrity, and accept responsibility for the way things has been handled. 

Because even if union members are now able to raise an equal pay claim, any claim will be worth an awful lot less than one registered back in 2005/06 when Action 4 Equality Scotland arrived on the scene and started to explain the big pay gap between traditional male and female jobs - which had been negotiated and agreed with the trade unions, of course.   

Debating the Issues (4 September 2013)



My appetite for political debate and discussion was whetted by my recent visit to Lanark for what turned out to be a public meeting on Equal Pay and Freedom of Information (FoI) - organised by the Green Party in Lanarkshire.

So I am eagerly checking my emails every day to check if I've received a similar invite from one of the other parties in Lanarkshire - or even one of the trade unions - because there's clearly a great deal of interest in these matters which has been fuelled by the recent decision of the UK Supreme Court.

I would be particularly pleased to accept an offer from Unison which has had little to say for itself recently - of substance anyway.

Which is very odd because the local Unison Branch Secretary, Stephen Smellie, had plenty to say when he acted as a Management Side witness at the Glasgow Employment Tribunal last year - that judged South Lanarkshire's in-house job evaluation scheme (much praised by the unions of course) as being 'unfit for purpose' - for not complying with equal pay legislation.

An open and honest debate in front of ordinary union members - now what could be fairer and more interesting than that?


Politics and Equal Pay (28 August 2013)

I've been invited to speak to the Green Party in South Lanarkshire tomorrow evening - on the subject of equal pay and Freedom of Information (FOI)

I'm looking forward to the event even though I thought my days of addressing political meetings were long gone - so I'll let you know how things go.

What I did want to say though, through the blog site, is that I'm quite prepared to speak pay to other parties and groups in South Lanarkshire - because the more that people understand what has been going on these past years - the better it will be for everyone in future.

We need fewer secrets on a whole range of subjects - not more, if you ask me.

So, if I get an invitation to speak with any of the following organisations - I'll gladly accept the offer, other commitments permitting:
  1. Labour councillors and Labour Party branches
  2. SNP councillors and SNP branches
  3. Lib Dem councillors and Lib Dem branches  
  4. Conservative councillors and Conservative branches
  5. Any independent councillors
  6. MSPs and MPs of all political parties
  7. Trade unions - including Unison, GMB and Unite
Wouldn't it be amazing to be invited along to a trade union meeting after all these years - to speak about equal pay and FOI in South Lanarkshire - with the ordinary grassroots members?

Now I imagine that certain people wouldn't be too happy at the prospect of an open and honest debate on these issues - with someone who knows what they're talking about, i.e. me.

But you never know.

South Lanarkshire Council - letter to Unison (1 November 2007)

Stephen Smellie (pronounced Smiley, not Smelly) is the Unison branch secretary in South Lanarkshire Council.

But Stephen (a former left-wing firebrand and supporter of Militant - which grew into the Scottish Socialist Party) has been strangely quiet on the subject of Equal Pay.

As quiet as a mouse in fact - or even a Trappist Monk - because Stephen appears to have lost the ability to speak up for union members. 

South Lanarkshire Council says that its Single Status pay structures were agreed by Unison and the other trade unions - but Stephen and his colleagues have remained silent while the row over Equal Pay and Single Status has raged in the press and media.

So, what is the position of Unison and the other trade unions - have they reached a collective agreement with the council and, if so, why are ordinary members being kept in the dark?

Here's a letter union members can send to their Unison branch secretary - which will help put Unison and the other trade unions on the spot. You just need to sign and date the letter after adding your address and post code.

To 
Stephen Smellie
Unison Branch Secretary
South Lanarkshire Council


Address and date

Dear Stephen 

South Lanarkshire Council - Single Status and Equal Pay

South Lanarkshire Council claims that the Single Status pay and grading structure introduced in 2004 was the result of a collective agreement with Unison and the other local trade unions.

As a Unison member, I would like you to supply me with the following information - so that I can see for myself exactly what happened in 2004.

1 I would like to know who signed and endorsed the Single Status Agreement in South Lanarkshire on behalf of Unison members - was this done by you or some other union official?

2 If Unison's agreement was given by an exchange of letters with the council, I would like a copy of this correspondence.

3 I would like a copy of the South Lanarkshire Single Status Agreement

4 I would like Unison to provide me with a copy of the Job Evaluation scores for all council jobs - so that I can see for myself how all posts (male and female) have been assessed and graded

5 I would like to know what the traditional male dominated jobs in South Lanarkshire have been paid since 2004 - i.e. the salary scales and pay rates for these jobs, not details of individual earnings. Unison must have access to this information since the trade unions negotiated the new salary scales when bonus payments ceased as part of the 2004 Single Status Agreement. 

I believe that Unison has an obligation to provide me with this information on request, as part of the normal service and advice to members available under union rule.

I look forward to hearing from you soon

Yours sincerely



................................................
Signed



Contact details for Stephen:

Stephen Smellie
Branch Secretary
Unison
South Lanarkshire Council
23 Beckford Street
Hamilton
ML3 0BT

E-mail: slanarkunison@blueyonder.co.uk
Phone: 01698 454225
FAX: 01698 454219

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