Glasgow - Richard's Big Chance
I have just written to Richard Leonard, the new leader of the Scottish Labour Party and a former official with the GMB trade union before being elected as an MSP.
Ironically, Richard now has a perfect opportunity to stand up and be counted over equal pay and do the right thing by the largely female workforce of Glasgow City Council who have been cheated and 'robbed' of their rights to equal pay for the past 10 years.
I'm sure GMB members and others in Glasgow will wish to encourage Richard to speak out including the union's Scotland secretary Gary Smith who backed Richard's Labour leadership campaign describing him as "a champion for workers' and trade union rights".
Well, if that's true - here's his big chance.
Richard Leonard
Leader of the Scottish Labour Party
By email to: Richard.Leonard.msp@scottish.parliament.uk
Dear Richard
Frank McAveety
Now is the time for party leaders in Glasgow to show some real leadership over equal pay and here's a statement that all the politicians ought to be able to unite around.
"All the political parties represented on Glasgow City Council agree to accept the unanimous decisions of the Court of Session, Scotland's highest civil court, the effect of which is that the Council's WPBR needs to be replaced by new pay arrangements that are 'equality proofed' and command the support of the council's largely female workforce.
"We also agree to abandon any further appeal to the UK Supreme Court in London and will instruct senior council officials to negotiate a settlement to all of the outstanding equal pay cases and to replace the WPBR pay scheme as quickly as possible."
So why don't Glasgow councillors just go for it and seek cross party backing within the City Council, but also from Glasgow's MSPs and MPs including the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon?
I plan to send this draft motion to the party leaders in Glasgow City Council: Susan Aitken (SNP), Frank McAveety (Labour) David Meikle (Conservatives) and Martin Bartos (Greens).
If you ask me, it's high time the City Council drew a line and made a virtue out of ending this long, drawn out dispute by accepting the judgment of Scotland's highest civil court.
Glasgow City Council was resoundingly defeated in the Court of Session, Scotland's highest civil court, on three separate occasions during 2017.
And to help people do just that - here's a handy list of their contact email addresses.
Glasgow Constituency MSPs (Scottish Parliament)
Glasgow MPs (Westminster Parliament)
I think it's safe to say there was no big breakthrough at the first equal pay meeting of 2018 with Glasgow City Council, otherwise everyone would have been shouting from the rooftops of the City Chambers.
So the settlement process continues and further meetings are in the diary, but the elephant in the room is the issue of whether Scotland's largest council now accepts the judgement of Scotland's highest civil court, the Court of Session, that Glasgow's discredited WPBR pay scheme really is 'unfit for purpose'.
If so, the City Council needs to take 'off the table' the possibility of a further appeal to the UK Supreme Court in London because settlement discussions can only get down to the business of serious negotiations if this threat is removed.
I think this is a very fair point to raise directly with Glasgow's MSPs and MPs including the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, especially as the deadline for any appeal is just one week away, i.e. next Wednesday 17 January 2018.
I have been raising the issue with MSPs and MPs in recent weeks, but the time is now right for individual claimants across Glasgow to make their voices heard.
The best way to do this would be for people to contact their local MSPs and MPs to ask their views on this subject and what they are doing to support their local constituents - by email, Facebook and Twitter.
I will post some thoughts on the blog site to help people get their point across, but Glasgow's politicians know what's going on for the past 10 years and if you ask me it's high time they stood up and spoke out.
More to follow - so spread the word far and wide, encourage your friends and co-workers to get involved and watch this space.
Glasgow and Equal Pay
Glasgow City Council faces a big decision this week on whether to accept the unanimous judgment of the Court Of Session, Scotland's highest civil court, which found the council's WPBR pay scheme to be 'unfit for purpose'.
The City Council's 'Administration Committee' has a special meeting next Wednesday (17 January 2018) to decide whether to accept the Court of Session's ruling.
I have written to all four party leaders on Glasgow City Council urging them to end this long running dispute, settle all the outstanding equal pay claims and introduce new pay arrangements that are 'equality proofed' and command the support of the council's largely female workforce.
I attach a list of Labour councillors who are members of the City Council's 'Administration Committee' and I am sure that many of the names will be familiar to you including that of Bill Butler, a former Labour MSP and member of the GMB union according to his Register of Interests.
I hope as Scottish Labour leader (and a former GMB official) you will speak out publicly on this issue and, in advance of Wednesday, do everything in your power to encourage Labour councillors in Glasgow to end this dispute by doing the right thing and standing up for the interests of the workers who have been denied their basic right to equal pay for the past 10 years.
Kind regards
Mark Irvine
Labour members of Glasgow City Council's Administration Committee
Frank McAveety
Archie Graham
Bill Butler
Elaine McDougall
Martin Rhodes
Matt Kerr
Maureen Burke
Soryia Siddique
-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Irvine
To: frank.mcaveety
Sent: Sat, Jan 13, 2018 10:21 am
Subject: Glasgow - Court of Session
From: Mark Irvine
To: frank.mcaveety
Sent: Sat, Jan 13, 2018 10:21 am
Subject: Glasgow - Court of Session
Frank McAveety
Leader of the Labour Group on Glasgow City Council
Dear Frank
Glasgow - Court of Session
I enclose the latest post to my blog regarding Glasgow City Council and recent decisions in the Court of Session.
I am sending this to all four party leaders, as the post explains.
Kind regards
Mark Irvine
Glasgow - Court of Session (14/01/18)
Now is the time for party leaders in Glasgow to show some real leadership over equal pay and here's a statement that all the politicians ought to be able to unite around.
"All the political parties represented on Glasgow City Council agree to accept the unanimous decisions of the Court of Session, Scotland's highest civil court, the effect of which is that the Council's WPBR needs to be replaced by new pay arrangements that are 'equality proofed' and command the support of the council's largely female workforce.
"We also agree to abandon any further appeal to the UK Supreme Court in London and will instruct senior council officials to negotiate a settlement to all of the outstanding equal pay cases and to replace the WPBR pay scheme as quickly as possible."
So why don't Glasgow councillors just go for it and seek cross party backing within the City Council, but also from Glasgow's MSPs and MPs including the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon?
I plan to send this draft motion to the party leaders in Glasgow City Council: Susan Aitken (SNP), Frank McAveety (Labour) David Meikle (Conservatives) and Martin Bartos (Greens).
If you ask me, it's high time the City Council drew a line and made a virtue out of ending this long, drawn out dispute by accepting the judgment of Scotland's highest civil court.
Glasgow - Equal Pay Update (11/01/18)
Glasgow City Council was resoundingly defeated in the Court of Session, Scotland's highest civil court, on three separate occasions during 2017.
- Over 'Pay Protection' - the Court of Session found that the City Council failed to protect the interests of female dominated jobs (the majority of the workforce) following the introduction of a new JES (Job Evaluation Scheme and new pay arrangements in 2006/07.
- Over the 'WPBR' - the Court of Session found that the City Council's new JES and new pay arrangements (known locally as the Workforce Pay and Benefits Review) were discriminatory, unlawful and 'unfit for purpose'.
- Over an application seeking 'leave to appeal' the WPBR judgment to the UK Supreme Court - the Court of Session decided that the City Council had no case and rejected all of their grounds of appeal
- All three decisions of the Court of Session were unanimous.
- Do you support the decisions of the Court of Session?
- Do you agree that Glasgow City Council should accept the judgment of the Court of Session - and drop any further appeal to the UK Supreme Court in London?
- If so, what are you doing to support your local constituents in the ongoing fight for equal pay in Glasgow which has reached a critical moment?
And to help people do just that - here's a handy list of their contact email addresses.
Glasgow Constituency MSPs (Scottish Parliament)
Glasgow List MSPs
Glasgow MPs (Westminster Parliament)
Glasgow - Equal Pay Update (10/01/18)
I think it's safe to say there was no big breakthrough at the first equal pay meeting of 2018 with Glasgow City Council, otherwise everyone would have been shouting from the rooftops of the City Chambers.
So the settlement process continues and further meetings are in the diary, but the elephant in the room is the issue of whether Scotland's largest council now accepts the judgement of Scotland's highest civil court, the Court of Session, that Glasgow's discredited WPBR pay scheme really is 'unfit for purpose'.
If so, the City Council needs to take 'off the table' the possibility of a further appeal to the UK Supreme Court in London because settlement discussions can only get down to the business of serious negotiations if this threat is removed.
I think this is a very fair point to raise directly with Glasgow's MSPs and MPs including the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, especially as the deadline for any appeal is just one week away, i.e. next Wednesday 17 January 2018.
I have been raising the issue with MSPs and MPs in recent weeks, but the time is now right for individual claimants across Glasgow to make their voices heard.
The best way to do this would be for people to contact their local MSPs and MPs to ask their views on this subject and what they are doing to support their local constituents - by email, Facebook and Twitter.
I will post some thoughts on the blog site to help people get their point across, but Glasgow's politicians know what's going on for the past 10 years and if you ask me it's high time they stood up and spoke out.
More to follow - so spread the word far and wide, encourage your friends and co-workers to get involved and watch this space.
