Glasgow's Near Neighbours

Here's an interesting article from the Motherwell Times which reports that the trade unions in North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire Councils are in the process of being sued by their own members.

I wonder if this trend might spread to the fair city of Glasgow where the GMB union repeated its bizarre decision in North Lanarkshire to restrict the equal pay claims of union members to only three years?

  

http://www.motherwelltimes.co.uk/news/business/legal-firm-warns-it-s-set-to-take-workers-pay-claims-to-court-1-4571823

Legal firm warns it’s set to take workers’ pay claims to court 


Donna-Marie Gray 

A legal firm says it’s close to starting court action against trade unions it claims short-changed hundreds of members in equal pay claims. 

DM Legal believes clients each lost out on tens of thousands of pounds because the unions didn’t take up their cases against North and South Lanarkshire Councils early enough. 

Now it wants to recover money and is preparing to raise an action in the Court of Session.

The Wishaw firm’s Donna-Marie Gray said it represents more than 600 members of Unison, the GMB and Unite including cleaners, kitchen assistants and janitors. 

For years many thousands of council workers across Scotland have been involved in cash battles amid claims that pay was historically less favourable to women. 

Ms Gray said workers who got independent lawyers to take up their cases have had much more favourable outcomes than those who relied on their union. 

She said: “The highest award I have heard of is £80,000 for a cleaner while others in the same job had to settle for as little as £10,000.” 

Colleague Alison-Kelly Martin said: “The case we have built against Unison and others is substantial. We have no doubt it will meet the legal standards applicable should we have to proceed to court.” 

DM Legal singled out the GMB for criticism two years ago when Ms Gray branded its equal pay settlements “disgraceful” and warned members were prepared to sue their own union. 

Faced with a renewed attack, a GMB spokesperson said: “Needless to say we refute these claims and we will confront any action against us should any be forthcoming.” 

Last year the GMB announced a settlement in principle with North Lanarkshire Council involving 200 cases. Fresh talks had been held with Councillor Jim Logue who had just taken over as council leader and said he was keen to resolve the equal pay issue. 

At that time Councillor Logue said: “This is a major milestone. We have negotiated in a sensible and constructive manner with the GMB and its legal advisers to reach agreement.” 

GMB Scotland organiser Hazel Nolan said “significant” awards had been secured for her members, adding: “The new council leadership recognised the need to resolve this inequality and their willingness to work with us in negotiating a proper settlement means our members are at last getting justice.” 

Neither Unison nor Unite had responded to a request for comment before the Times & Speaker went to press last night. 

Ms Gray admitted that, while the threat of legal action had been made two years ago, no court proceedings have yet commenced, but she insisted this will happen soon unless the unions are prepared to pay up. 

She said: “We have been working on this for the last two years. Our clients are people who have worked hard all their lives. 

“They showed loyalty to stick with the unions through this, but the claims weren’t investigated soon enough and as a result they were getting payments of £10,000 when others who went to lawyers got four or five times that.” 

Read more at: http://www.motherwelltimes.co.uk/news/business/legal-firm-warns-it-s-set-to-take-workers-pay-claims-to-court-1-4571823

Glasgow - Equal Pay Update (20/09/17)

GMB members Glasgow must be wondering if history is repeating itself over the terrible mishandling of their equal pay claims against the City Council.

Because the issue of the GMB restricting its members claims to only three years first came to light in North Lanarkshire Council back in 2015 and the union's new regional secretary, Gary Smith, promised to launch a full investigation into exactly what went wrong.

Since then nothing further has been said publicly at least and there's no sign of the union sharing with its members the 'complete assessment of the legal strategy pursued by Digby Brown'. 

Bute surely if the GMB believes Digby Brown to have been at fault, the union should be demanding that their former lawyers compensate those who have lost out.

On the other hand if the GMB itself is found to have 'dropped the ball', surely the union has an obligation to put things right. 

  

NLC Update (15/10/15)

A kind reader has passed on to me details of a letter from the GMB to union members in North Lanarkshire - the following two paragraphs caught my attention immediately:

"I (Gary Smith) have launched a full investigation into the North Lanarkshire case and a complete assessment of the legal strategy pursued by Digby Brown in relation to our equal pay cases in all of Scotland. If claims need to be amended, they will be, and if we have received the wrong advice we will take action to protect our members' position.

"In the meantime, if you are a GMB member and you have a case with Digby Brown, we will be happy to transfer it to a different firm if you are unhappy with the current placement. Please contact our GMB law firm - UnionLine - at pi@unionline.co.uk or call them on 0300 333 0303, If you would like us to relocate your case. UnionLine is a legal firm owned by the union and operates on a not for profit basis."

Now it seems obvious to me that the GMB must have lost confidence in Digby Brown, but in the recent members' meetings I've attended the GMB explained that a national policy decision was responsible for restricting its members claims to only 3-years.

But now the GMB appears to be blaming Digby Brown although I fail to understand how members can be invited to transfer their equal pay claims elsewhere (to another law firm), without being told, first of all, what has gone wrong in relation to their claims Digby Brown.

So the following questions need an urgent answer, if you ask me:

1 Will the results of the GMB's investigation be shared with union members in North Lanarkshire?

2 Does the GMB now accept that its legal advice was wrong?

3 Will the GMB be sharing this legal advice with the members affected?

4 Will the GMB confirm that settlement proposals were put directly to North Lanarkshire Council by, or on behalf of, the GMB trade union? 

The sooner we have an independents complaints procedure for trade unions in the UK the better - because this is a perfect example of the difficulty that ordinary union members often have in holding big union bureaucracies to account.

Glasgow - Equal Pay Update

The GMB's Gary Smith has not been in touch to take up my offer of a meeting to discuss Glasgow City Council's Employment Development Commitment (EDC) scheme which, as regular readers know, ensured special and more favourable treatment to the all male, former bonus earning jobs under the Council's WPBR pay scheme.

Now this may be because at least some of the jobs in question were located in parts of the council where many of the workers were GMB members, represented by GMB union reps - Gravediggers and Gardeners and so on.

I'm pretty sure the GMB was the dominant union amongst City Council Gardeners, for example, so it must be well placed to help get to the bottom of what really went on, especially since council officials say they don't keep such 'good' records.

And I think the same may be true of the City Council's Gravediggers who appear to have had a whopping big bonus of £11,000 a year preserved on a permanent basis by the award of a higher grade under the WPBR and EDC.

But maybe readers in Glasgow can also help with this - some folk must know a Gardener or a Gravedigger who would be willing to help women workers in the City Council get what they deserve in the fight for equal pay.

Also can any GMB members tell me if they have received an individual letter from Gary Smith explaining why their equal pay claims were still restricted in Glasgow - two years after the very same problem came to light in North Lanarkshire Council back in 2015.

If you ask me, the GMB ought to agree to compensate these members, since it's the union and/or its advisers who messed up - not individual GMB members.

  

Glasgow - Equal Pay Update (24/08/17)

As I thought Gary Smith has been badly 'stung' by the post I published yesterday which had some critical words to say about the GMB 's handling of its members equal pay claims in Glasgow.

Perfectly fair, I thought, given the circumstances, but perhaps predictably Gary has lashed out instead of accepting the GMB's responsibility for this terrible mess of its own making.

Here is the GMB's response to what I had to say which is probably the longest email letter I've ever read - a curious cross between a ramble and a rant.

Now I wrote to Gary well over a week ago to suggest that we work together in the interests of all the claimants, but I never received an acknowledgment to my letter never mind a positive response.

Hence my decision to call a 'spade a spade' on the blog site the other day.  

So the ball is still in the GMB's court, for example the union could help by explaining exactly how the former bonus earning jobs (Gravediggers, Gardeners etc) received more favourable treatment under the City Council's Employee Development Commitment (EDC) scheme, even though the GMB is not part of the challenge to the Council's JES and WPBR.

At the moment Gary seems unable to 'see the wood for the trees', but maybe that will change and if so, he knows how to get in touch.

In the meantime, here are some facts on the track record of A4ES which is based on getting results, unlike the GMB which has been taking its members' union fees for years while letting them down in the fight for equal pay.

• A4ES is proud of its track record which bears bears repeating
• Without A4ES there would not have been any equal pay settlements in 2005 because up until then the employers and unions kept the workforce in the dark about the big pay differences between male and female jobs
• A4ES clients in Glasgow received much better 1st Wave settlements because A4ES did not agree to a 'cap' of just £9,000 - in a deal with the unions which also excluded lots of groups and compensation over issues such as overtime working
• Without A4ES there would not have been in any challenge to the Pay Protection arrangements in Glasgow since A4ES started the challenge immediately whereas the GMB didn't even begin a challenge until after pay protection finished
• A4ES has led the challenge to Glasgow's WPBR from the outset and now all the GMB are doing is trying to 'jump on the bandwagon' after the victory at the Court Session
• A4ES is not in the least embarrassed by the fact that we charge for services - A4ES is the lowest charging firm in the UK and believes we are worth every penny because of our track record of success.
• GMB members have a simple choice - do you believe an organisation that's been keeping you in the dark and misleading you for 10 years, or A4ES that has been telling people the truth for the past 12 years?
• By the way this is the first time that Gary Smith has acknowledged publicly that the GMB has messed up (again) in Glasgow although there is still no sign of the promised 'investigation' into what went wrong previously in North Lanarkshire - more than two years ago.

  

Dear Gary

Glasgow and Equal Pay

I have had lots to say on my blog site recently about the ongoing fight for equal pay in Glasgow City Council.

My comments regarding the GMB have been quite critical, as you know, and although I believe my criticisms are entirely justified I am also mindful of the fact that you were not actually in Glasgow at the time and, therefore, had no direct responsibility for the behaviour of the local trade unions back in 2005, 2006 and 2007.

Having read your recent comments on the current situation in Glasgow I think it would be to everyone's advantage, if Action 4 Equality Scotland and the local unions (GMB, Unison and Unite) were to work together with the aim of achieving the best possible outcome for the thousands of equal pay claimants we represent.

To my mind the local unions are well placed to help get to the bottom of the City Council's pay protection arrangements which, as you know, treated women workers very differently to their male colleagues, and went way beyond the nationally agreed 3-year protection period as a consequence of the City Council's Employee Development Commitment (EDC).

As the EDC scheme benefited traditional male, former bonus earning jobs I am sure the local unions in Glasgow are in a position to explain exactly what happened in respect of the City Council's Gravediggers, Gardeners and Refuse Workers etc - in other words we don't need to rely on what senior council managers or advisors have to say.

I am confident that this information will come out into the open one way or another, eventually, but the sooner the better as far as I'm concerned and the information will obviously be a great help to all the female claimants.

My suggestion is that we should pool our efforts and increase the pressure on the City Council in the weeks ahead by highlighting how the former bonus earning jobs were given special treatment under the EDC and the council's pay protection arrangements. 

If you would like to discuss my proposal in more detail I would be happy to come along to the GMB office at Fountain House or anywhere else you might like to meet. I would attend any meeting on my own though I have no problem with you being accompanied by one of more of your GMB colleagues.

Kind regards

Mark Irvine

Dear GMB Member

GMB Scotland Update – Glasgow City Council Equal Pay & Action 4 Equality

I have said previously that I will not be giving a running commentary on the spin of private law firms with interests in equal pay. However, I won’t sit back and let any individual or organisation outside of GMB Scotland peddle misinformation about the actions of our trade union to our members or the general public. 

Action 4 Equality (A4E) is a no-win / no-fee claims company and has a significant stake in the Glasgow City Council equal pay issue. Make no mistake about it, equal pay is big business for A4E and future equal pay settlements will see them take cuts from their claimants that will be worth significant sums for them.

That’s why they are currently touting for more GMB members to transfer their claims to A4E.  In the blog post of Tuesday 22 August they make two spurious claims which have circulated social media:

• GMB members have had their equal pay claims restricted to only 3 years and this presents a particular problem. 
• Any GMB members transferring claims to A4ES will have their claims re-registered and will have a new claim started as well, but they may have to consider separate action against the GMB (and/or its lawyers) if they suffer a financial loss because of the GMB's handling of their original claim.   The suggestion that A4E can somehow get something for our members which we cannot is simply wrong.   We are now taking action to ensure that our members can pursue claims for the maximum amount possible in light of the recent decision in relation to the claims in Glasgow.

However, it is the rank hypocrisy of A4E on this issue that demands immediate redress.

I recently received a personal communication from them requesting discussions with me on the future of equal pay claims in Glasgow City Council. The letter from Mark Irvine on behalf of A4E said: “I think it would be to everyone's advantage, if Action 4 Equality Scotland and the local unions (GMB, Unison and Unite) were to work together with the aim of achieving the best possible outcome for the thousands of equal pay claimants we represent.”

They also acknowledged that under my leadership, GMB Scotland “had no direct responsibility for the behaviour of local trade unions back in 2005, 2006 and 2007.” 

I assume here that they are referring to the actions of trade unions in GCC taken on the advice of their legal affiliates at that particular period of time.

Therefore, it is quite something for A4E to extend the hand of friendship on one hand while peddling lies about GMB members and their equal pay claims on the other. I was prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt when I received his initial communication but the recent blogpost reveals their true colours.  

As I also pointed out before, the last big equal pay claim is this one in Glasgow and A4E want to drum up as much business as possible because this is their last big pay day.

I started as Scottish Secretary of GMB a bit under 2 years ago. What is true is that one of the first things I did was sack our existing lawyers then Digby Brown. I did that because I didn't think they were providing our members with the best legal support including in relation to Equal Pay. I have instigated legal action against Digby Brown for the work they did on Equal Pay in places like North Lanarkshire.

But let’s be clear, our members in North Lanarkshire who had on going cases, because of the action we instigated, are now subject to settlement terms which entitles them to the monies they are due. 

In Glasgow, a number of years ago, our then lawyers Digby Brown did not pursue a claim over job evaluation. The union and private lawyers who did actually pursue the claim over job evaluation lost their case twice at Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal. Last week the Court of Session did find in favour of the other union and private lawyers. In fact, what the Court of Session found was that Glasgow City Council could not successfully defend the job evaluation scheme they used. 

The judgement has huge implications for Glasgow City Council and all the Arms Length Organisations (ALEOS) it runs like Glasgow Life and Cordia. Every job in the ALEOS and in Glasgow City Council may have to be re-evaluated using a new system. What last Friday’s judgement does not do is immediately entitle anyone to more money. Glasgow City Council may yet appeal the judgement and there would be big hurdles to get over to secure money for workers across the council and ALEOS.

In terms of GMB Scotland our current lawyers Thompsons along with the other unions and private solicitors have successfully pursued a claim over Pay Protection.

There is now no dispute that our members we originally pursued claims for are entitled to money because the pay protection process used by Glasgow City Council discriminated against women.

The amounts due to individuals for the pay protection claim will vary depending on individual circumstances but whether people have claims with private lawyers or another union the same principles apply.

The only difference for those who have claims with the private lawyers is that they are going to take a significant chunk of cash from their client’s winnings in a way that does not make it clear what is being deducted. It is therefore not clear to individuals how much they are actually paying to the private lawyers.

Therefore, I would urge every individual who is with Action for Equality and the private firms to demand to know exactly how much they are pocketing from the individual settlements.

In terms of our members with longstanding claims relating to pay protection, we have instructed our current lawyers, Thompsons, to take any action required to ensure that our members get the maximum amount possible.

There has been a lot of speculation and spin from A4E and the private lawyers over the number of years that is being claimed for by them and GMB Scotland.

Let me be as clear as I can possibly be on this issue, for those with existing claims the limits on backdating of claims cannot be altered whether you are with GMB another union or the private lawyers. 

Any suggestion from the no win / no fee lawyers to the contrary is just marketing spin. Glasgow is the last big potential pay day for the no win / no fee lawyers in Scotland and they want to make as much money as possible for themselves.

I wish our old legal firm Digby Brown had pursued the case against job evaluation scheme but they did not. If the advice given by Digby Brown to our members and us as a union turns out to have been flawed and it ends up disadvantaging our members, I will look at pursuing a claim against Digby Brown the same as we are in North Lanarkshire. I give an absolute commitment to all our members with existing claims that I will be doing everything in my power to get you a fair and equitable settlement and whatever money you are due.

The truth is in light of last Friday’s judgement at the Court of Session over Job Evaluation the most sensible course of action is for Glasgow City council to stop squandering tax payers’ money on legal fees and appeals and to sit down and negotiate will all parties to get a resolution to the Equal Pay mess that they as an employer are presiding over.

So to conclude, for those with existing claims with GMB Scotland nobody, whatever the private lawyers suggest, will be able to take claims for more years than you are currently due. The only thing the private lawyers will do different for those who are with GMB is take a load of money off individuals as and when money is paid out by Glasgow City Council.

Individuals need to make up their mind who can best represent them now but the no win no / fee lawyers are not going to get anyone who moves to them a better deal. What the no win / no fee lawyers are going to do is make themselves a lot money off those who take claims with them.

Ultimately we are calling for Glasgow City Council to get round the table with all parties to get a negotiated solution to the mess around Equal Pay.  

The one thing last Friday’s judgement at the Court of Session does allow us to do is start taking claims for those who are in jobs, predominantly done by women, who did not previously have a claim. We are starting the process of registering claims now. Again the so called Action 4 Equality and their no win/ no fee lawyer friends cannot do anymore for new claimants than us. The only point of difference is between the lawyers promoted by Action 4 Equality and the GMB legal service for new claimants is we won’t take any money off individuals when we are successful with cases, the no win / no fee lawyers definitely will. 

I know this is very concerning and confusing. All I can say is that since I came back to Scotland to take up my current job I have a proven track record in fighting for the rights of our women members around Equal Pay. 

I intend to get the very best deal we can for all of you. You will be kept advised of developments.

  Yours sincerely 
 

Gary Smith 
GMB Scotland Secretary