South Lanarkshire Council - letter to Councillors, MSPs and MPs
At a recent Action 4 Equality meeting in South Lanarkshire we agreed to provide clients with a letter that will help get a message across to local Councillors, MSPs and MPs.
Well here it is - the letter is not asking anyone to take sides at this stage - simply for their help in putting the facts on the table - so that everyone can judge for themselves how the council has behaved in introducing a new (Single Status) pay and grading structure.
All you need to do is date the letter - and add your name and address before sending it off to the Councillor, MSP or MP of your choice. If you need any further help, contact Action 4 Equality on 0131 667 7956.
South Lanarkshire Council - Single Status and Equal Pay
I am looking for your support in finding out exactly how Single Status has been implemented in South Lanarkshire Council. Under normal circumstances this information should be readily available to staff and others, but up till now council officials have been keeping the details hidden from public view and proper scrutiny.
In 2004 South Lanarkshire Council introduced a new (Single Status) pay and grading structure - one that was supposed to be fair and non-discriminatory - following a collective agreement with the trade unions.
Yet, the council stubbornly refuses to explain the details of the scheme to the people directly affected, or to explain why discriminatory pay practices continue to affect so many female dominated jobs.
For example, prior to 2004 a Home Carer was on a higher grade than a Refuse Driver - but after the new (and supposedly fairer) Single Status scheme was introduced the female dominated job has still been paid @£6,000 a year less (on full-time hours) than the male job.
The same is true of many other female dominated jobs in South Lanarkshire. Cooks, Catering Workers, Cleaners, Clerical Workers, Classroom Assistants and Nursery Nurses - are all paid much less than traditional male jobs such as Refuse Workers, Street Sweepers, Gardeners and Gravediggers!
All that has happened under Single Status is that South Lanarkshire has absorbed the old bonus payments (paid only to male jobs) into new salary scales - which are much higher than the salaries paid to comparable female jobs.
I am not asking you to support my individual case. What I am asking for is your help in establishing exactly what happened when Single Status was introduced in 2004. The onus is on South Lanarkshire to demonstrate that it acted fairly and consistently, but even to this day employees are being kept in the dark - despite promises that the process would be open and transparent.
My specific request are as follows:
1 I would like a copy of South Lanarkshire's Single Status Agreement with the unions
2 I would like a copy of the Job Evaluation scores for all council jobs - so that I can see for myself how all the male and female jobs have been graded - and whether or not the process was fair.
3 I would like to know what the traditional male dominated jobs have been paid under Single Status - i.e. the salary scales that have been applied to these jobs since 2004 - not details of individual earnings, which are clearly private and confidential.
All of this information should be freely available. Indeed it has been made available by many other councils in Scotland - including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling and Argyll & Bute. In my view South Lanarkshire has no excuse for treating its employees in this way and I would ask for your help in persuading the council to explain how key decisions on Single Status were reached.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely
..................................................
Signed
Well here it is - the letter is not asking anyone to take sides at this stage - simply for their help in putting the facts on the table - so that everyone can judge for themselves how the council has behaved in introducing a new (Single Status) pay and grading structure.
All you need to do is date the letter - and add your name and address before sending it off to the Councillor, MSP or MP of your choice. If you need any further help, contact Action 4 Equality on 0131 667 7956.
Address and Date
Dear Councillor/MSP/MPSouth Lanarkshire Council - Single Status and Equal Pay
I am looking for your support in finding out exactly how Single Status has been implemented in South Lanarkshire Council. Under normal circumstances this information should be readily available to staff and others, but up till now council officials have been keeping the details hidden from public view and proper scrutiny.
In 2004 South Lanarkshire Council introduced a new (Single Status) pay and grading structure - one that was supposed to be fair and non-discriminatory - following a collective agreement with the trade unions.
Yet, the council stubbornly refuses to explain the details of the scheme to the people directly affected, or to explain why discriminatory pay practices continue to affect so many female dominated jobs.
For example, prior to 2004 a Home Carer was on a higher grade than a Refuse Driver - but after the new (and supposedly fairer) Single Status scheme was introduced the female dominated job has still been paid @£6,000 a year less (on full-time hours) than the male job.
The same is true of many other female dominated jobs in South Lanarkshire. Cooks, Catering Workers, Cleaners, Clerical Workers, Classroom Assistants and Nursery Nurses - are all paid much less than traditional male jobs such as Refuse Workers, Street Sweepers, Gardeners and Gravediggers!
All that has happened under Single Status is that South Lanarkshire has absorbed the old bonus payments (paid only to male jobs) into new salary scales - which are much higher than the salaries paid to comparable female jobs.
I am not asking you to support my individual case. What I am asking for is your help in establishing exactly what happened when Single Status was introduced in 2004. The onus is on South Lanarkshire to demonstrate that it acted fairly and consistently, but even to this day employees are being kept in the dark - despite promises that the process would be open and transparent.
My specific request are as follows:
1 I would like a copy of South Lanarkshire's Single Status Agreement with the unions
2 I would like a copy of the Job Evaluation scores for all council jobs - so that I can see for myself how all the male and female jobs have been graded - and whether or not the process was fair.
3 I would like to know what the traditional male dominated jobs have been paid under Single Status - i.e. the salary scales that have been applied to these jobs since 2004 - not details of individual earnings, which are clearly private and confidential.
All of this information should be freely available. Indeed it has been made available by many other councils in Scotland - including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling and Argyll & Bute. In my view South Lanarkshire has no excuse for treating its employees in this way and I would ask for your help in persuading the council to explain how key decisions on Single Status were reached.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely
..................................................
Signed
