TRAMPLED UNDERFOOT (aka Standing on the Shoulders of Giants)
Susan M worked as a Catering Assistant for 27 years until she finally retired in May 2005 - after a lifetime of public service to the City of Glasgow.
Susan had heard nothing about equal pay - from anyone - until she watched the BBC Scotland news programme in August 2005 which announced the arrival (in Scotland) of Action 4 Equality and Stefan Cross.
As a long-standing member of Unison (formerly NUPE) Susan contacted her local union rep for advice and help - within Glasgow Unison, the largest, most powerful and best resourced branch in Scotland.
Susan was sent some paperwork to complete and return, which she did without delay - then she heard nothing for weeks and months. Her calls were seldom returned, but when she did manage to speak with someone she was told not to worry - everything was tickety-boo!
Finally, after trying for many months to get some hard information out of the union she had belonged to for so long - Glasgow Unison dropped its bombshell - Susan's claim had not actually been processed (as she'd been told) and her equal pay claim was now time barred!
The reason being that Susan had only 6 months from the date of her retirement (May 2005) to lodge a claim with the Employment Tribunals - she believed she had done so by completing and returning all the forms and returning these to Unison - only to be told that the Glasgow branch had somehow managed to drop the ball.
Susan's MSP - Sandra White - took up her case and wrote to the Unison regional secretary (Matt Smith), but he just fobbed the MSP off and referred the enquiry back to the Glasgow branch.
So much for leadership at the top!
In July 2007, Susan received a letter from the Glasgow branch chairperson (Mike Kirby) to say that the matter was now closed and that Susan had ceased to be a member of the union when she retired. So, to add insult to injury Unison were now saying that (as an ex-member) they were not obliged to help her in the first place.
In which case, the obvious question is: Why did Unison not say so at the outset and why did they give her every reason to believe her claim was in safe hands?
It has to be said, this is the kind of cold, arrogant response you'd expect from a rogue employer - not a trade union - because Unison is clearly to blame for the claim being out of time.
Now Glasgow is a big, strong and very powerful Unison branch and Mike Kirby is one of its leading voices - see post dated 16 April 2007.
Whereas Susan is just an ordinary grassroots member fighting for justice on equal pay. You'd think the least Unison would do is to put up their hands, admit the mess they'd made of things and take responsibility for their actions.
Union leaders are fond of saying that they stand on the shoulders of giants - i.e. those at the top are strong only because of the loyalty and backing of the ordinary foot soldiers.
But on this occasion, and in the words of that old Led Zeppelin song, Susan has been Trampled Underfoot - and by the very same union leaders who like to wax lyrical about their special bond with grassroots members, when it suits their purpose.
As Susan herself says: "I was a union member all my working life, but I'm disgusted at the way Unison has behaved - they abandoned me just when I needed them most!"
The good news is that Action 4 Equality and Stefan Cross will be taking up the case - and we intend to sue Unison for damages on Susan's behalf. We are also prepared help other people who have been treated in a similar way - so spread the word.
Susan had heard nothing about equal pay - from anyone - until she watched the BBC Scotland news programme in August 2005 which announced the arrival (in Scotland) of Action 4 Equality and Stefan Cross.
As a long-standing member of Unison (formerly NUPE) Susan contacted her local union rep for advice and help - within Glasgow Unison, the largest, most powerful and best resourced branch in Scotland.
Susan was sent some paperwork to complete and return, which she did without delay - then she heard nothing for weeks and months. Her calls were seldom returned, but when she did manage to speak with someone she was told not to worry - everything was tickety-boo!
Finally, after trying for many months to get some hard information out of the union she had belonged to for so long - Glasgow Unison dropped its bombshell - Susan's claim had not actually been processed (as she'd been told) and her equal pay claim was now time barred!
The reason being that Susan had only 6 months from the date of her retirement (May 2005) to lodge a claim with the Employment Tribunals - she believed she had done so by completing and returning all the forms and returning these to Unison - only to be told that the Glasgow branch had somehow managed to drop the ball.
Susan's MSP - Sandra White - took up her case and wrote to the Unison regional secretary (Matt Smith), but he just fobbed the MSP off and referred the enquiry back to the Glasgow branch.
So much for leadership at the top!
In July 2007, Susan received a letter from the Glasgow branch chairperson (Mike Kirby) to say that the matter was now closed and that Susan had ceased to be a member of the union when she retired. So, to add insult to injury Unison were now saying that (as an ex-member) they were not obliged to help her in the first place.
In which case, the obvious question is: Why did Unison not say so at the outset and why did they give her every reason to believe her claim was in safe hands?
It has to be said, this is the kind of cold, arrogant response you'd expect from a rogue employer - not a trade union - because Unison is clearly to blame for the claim being out of time.
Now Glasgow is a big, strong and very powerful Unison branch and Mike Kirby is one of its leading voices - see post dated 16 April 2007.
Whereas Susan is just an ordinary grassroots member fighting for justice on equal pay. You'd think the least Unison would do is to put up their hands, admit the mess they'd made of things and take responsibility for their actions.
Union leaders are fond of saying that they stand on the shoulders of giants - i.e. those at the top are strong only because of the loyalty and backing of the ordinary foot soldiers.
But on this occasion, and in the words of that old Led Zeppelin song, Susan has been Trampled Underfoot - and by the very same union leaders who like to wax lyrical about their special bond with grassroots members, when it suits their purpose.
As Susan herself says: "I was a union member all my working life, but I'm disgusted at the way Unison has behaved - they abandoned me just when I needed them most!"
The good news is that Action 4 Equality and Stefan Cross will be taking up the case - and we intend to sue Unison for damages on Susan's behalf. We are also prepared help other people who have been treated in a similar way - so spread the word.
