Glasgow - Equal Pay Update



Rome wasn't built in a day, as everyone knows, and as far as equal pay is concerned everyone agrees it will take some time to reach a comprehensive settlement of all the outstanding claims with Glasgow City Council.

But the fact that there is still lots of work to do doesn't mean that we have to wait for months on end before seeing some signs of real progress.

For example, the Council's WPBR pay scheme has been thoroughly discredited by the 'unfit for purpose' judgment of the Court of Session, Scotland highest civil court.

So GCC has to face up to the fact that the WPBR does not command the confidence of the workforce and needs to be replaced - and the sooner the better, if you ask me.

The WPBR was developed by an external consultant, Hays HR Consulting and a chap named Steve Watson, back in 2005/06 although the circumstances surrounding the award of this contract are shrouded in mystery - council officials even claim not to know how much the WPBR cost to introduce.

A ready made alternative already exists in the shape of the so-called Gauge Scheme which was specifically developed by COSLA (the employers' umbrella body) and recommended for use by Scottish councils by COSLA and the national trade unions.

The employers invested £250,000 in developing the Gauge Scheme, but for reasons which have ever been examined properly Glasgow decided to got its own way and bring in a completely new and untested scheme which became known as the WPBR.

The advantage of the Gauge Scheme is that it is tried and tested in other Scottish councils and as an 'off the peg' job evaluation scheme (JES) Gauge would also save a lot of time since Glasgow would not be starting from scratch as it did with the WPBR.

Given that we are now into February I think its time the City Council bit the bullet and made its intentions clear.

The other area where some early progress can be made is on the scope and value of the outstanding equal pay claims because the council has already conceded that the final bill will be 'significant'.

In which case why not find a way of making a payment on account to the claimants' which would be a sign of the council's good faith while detailed negotiations continue and new JES arrangements are put in place.

Many Glasgow claimants have been waiting since 2007 on their equal pay claims being resolved and a big gesture from the council would begin the task of restoring the confidence of workers who feel badly let down over the shabby way they have been treated for the past 10 years.


   

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