Falkirk Council - update
Our recent report about secret bonus earnings in Falkirk has caused a bit of a stushie locally - see post dated 8 January 2008.
Hundreds of Action 4 Equality clients were shocked to learn just how much more the male jobs have been paid all these years - and how badly they'd been let down by senior managers and the trade unions.
But not everyone was in the dark it would appear, oh no!
Because Councillor Pat Reid (Labour) has been in touch saying that he's known all about the pay gap between the male and female workers - and what's all the fuss about anyway!
The 'fuss' councillor is that it's discriminatory and unlawful to pay groups of men more than groups of women - unless you can justify the difference in pay by pointing to the relative skills and responsibilities of the jobs that are being compared.
And who in their right mind would try to argue that a (female) carer, cook or classroom assistant is worth so much less than a (male) refuse collector, gardener or gravedigger?
The difference in pay is worth thousands of pounds a year - and that is completely indefensible - unless, of course, you happen to be a senior council official or local union rep.
Small wonder Labour has lost so much support around the country - with people like Councillor Pat Reid leading the charge.
Hundreds of Action 4 Equality clients were shocked to learn just how much more the male jobs have been paid all these years - and how badly they'd been let down by senior managers and the trade unions.
But not everyone was in the dark it would appear, oh no!
Because Councillor Pat Reid (Labour) has been in touch saying that he's known all about the pay gap between the male and female workers - and what's all the fuss about anyway!
The 'fuss' councillor is that it's discriminatory and unlawful to pay groups of men more than groups of women - unless you can justify the difference in pay by pointing to the relative skills and responsibilities of the jobs that are being compared.
And who in their right mind would try to argue that a (female) carer, cook or classroom assistant is worth so much less than a (male) refuse collector, gardener or gravedigger?
The difference in pay is worth thousands of pounds a year - and that is completely indefensible - unless, of course, you happen to be a senior council official or local union rep.
Small wonder Labour has lost so much support around the country - with people like Councillor Pat Reid leading the charge.
