Single Status and Equal Pay - What's the difference?
Single Status is simply the name given to an important agreement from 1999 - when Scottish councils and the trade unions promised to end the distinction between 'blue collar' (Manual) workers and 'white collar' (APT&C) staff.
A key part of the agreement was a commitment to sweep away years of pay discrimination against many female dominated jobs - carers, cooks, cleaners, clerical workers and classroom assistants - by introducing a modern, fit for purpose and non-discriminatory pay structure.
The employers and trade unions agreed that the only way to achieve the kind of modern pay structure both sides desired - was via a new Job Evaluation (JE) scheme that gave female dominated jobs a better deal.
The problem was that the council employers and the trade unions both sat on their backsides for the next 10 years - blaming each other for the lack of progress - but ultimately they failed to deliver on their promises to a largely female workforce.
Equal Pay is underpinned by legislation - it's the law of the land - enshrined in the 1970 Equal Pay Act and in subsequent statutes and regulations.
Equal Pay trumps any collective agreement between employers and trade unions - because these collective agreements are voluntary in nature - and do not carry the same force as a binding legal agreement.
So, employers and trade unions may say they believe in equal opportunities and equal pay - but pursuing an Equal Pay claim puts the matter in the hands of the courts - where issues are decided by an independent Employment Tribunal.
Employers and trade unions often feel threatened by the involvement of the courts - because they lose control of the situation - they are no longer playing by their own internal rules, as with Single Status - and they have to account for their actions (or lack of them) to an external, independent body.
After a decade of empty promises - our advice to council employees in Scotland is to use the Employment Tribunal route - because the employers and trade unions have lost any credibility they once had - for doing the right thing by council workers.
A key part of the agreement was a commitment to sweep away years of pay discrimination against many female dominated jobs - carers, cooks, cleaners, clerical workers and classroom assistants - by introducing a modern, fit for purpose and non-discriminatory pay structure.
The employers and trade unions agreed that the only way to achieve the kind of modern pay structure both sides desired - was via a new Job Evaluation (JE) scheme that gave female dominated jobs a better deal.
The problem was that the council employers and the trade unions both sat on their backsides for the next 10 years - blaming each other for the lack of progress - but ultimately they failed to deliver on their promises to a largely female workforce.
Equal Pay is underpinned by legislation - it's the law of the land - enshrined in the 1970 Equal Pay Act and in subsequent statutes and regulations.
Equal Pay trumps any collective agreement between employers and trade unions - because these collective agreements are voluntary in nature - and do not carry the same force as a binding legal agreement.
So, employers and trade unions may say they believe in equal opportunities and equal pay - but pursuing an Equal Pay claim puts the matter in the hands of the courts - where issues are decided by an independent Employment Tribunal.
Employers and trade unions often feel threatened by the involvement of the courts - because they lose control of the situation - they are no longer playing by their own internal rules, as with Single Status - and they have to account for their actions (or lack of them) to an external, independent body.
After a decade of empty promises - our advice to council employees in Scotland is to use the Employment Tribunal route - because the employers and trade unions have lost any credibility they once had - for doing the right thing by council workers.
