Glasgow City Council: "Let's Get Serious"
An employment tribunal (pre-hearing review) is being held next week (Wednesday 22 October) – involving some of the outstanding Glasgow city council cases.
The underlying issues are about pay discrimination against female employees, but the council is, yet again, seeking to avoid serious legal argument.
Instead it’s trying to block people’s claims because of the Action 4 Equality Scotland blog site.
Six months ago, in April 2008, the blog site posted an article highlighting the fact that thousands of women employees in Glasgow signed Compromise Agreements back in 2005. But Stefan Cross Solicitors has raised serious concerns about the nature of these arrangements – and whether people were properly advised by the council or the ‘independent’ lawyers involved.
Yet, the council’s response is to concentrate on comments from a blog site that are six months old. The tribunal has listed a two day hearing to address arguments from Glasgow that the council cannot get a fair hearing due to comments on the Internet.
Stefan Cross Solicitors will be vigorously defending the action next week – not only on the grounds that this is an attack on free speech and an attempt at censorship and – but also by pressing for Glasgow to ‘get serious’ and focus on the substantive legal arguments surrounding these cases.
Only then will employees in Glasgow receive a proper hearing. At present, the council is using public funds to pay lawyers to engage in desperate delaying tactics. The two day tribunal hearing will be run at taxpayers’ expense, but will not address any legitimate legal arguments about equal pay.
Glasgow clients are welcome – in fact entitled – to attend next week’s hearing which is taking place at the Glasgow Employment Tribunal offices on Wednesday 22 (and possibly Thursday 23) October 2008 – best to get there for 9.30am.
If you are planning to attend the Employment Tribunal address is: the Eagle Building, 215 Bothwell Street, Glasgow, G2 7TS: 5-minutes walk west along Bothwell Street from Central Station in the direction of Finnieston.
The underlying issues are about pay discrimination against female employees, but the council is, yet again, seeking to avoid serious legal argument.
Instead it’s trying to block people’s claims because of the Action 4 Equality Scotland blog site.
Six months ago, in April 2008, the blog site posted an article highlighting the fact that thousands of women employees in Glasgow signed Compromise Agreements back in 2005. But Stefan Cross Solicitors has raised serious concerns about the nature of these arrangements – and whether people were properly advised by the council or the ‘independent’ lawyers involved.
Yet, the council’s response is to concentrate on comments from a blog site that are six months old. The tribunal has listed a two day hearing to address arguments from Glasgow that the council cannot get a fair hearing due to comments on the Internet.
Stefan Cross Solicitors will be vigorously defending the action next week – not only on the grounds that this is an attack on free speech and an attempt at censorship and – but also by pressing for Glasgow to ‘get serious’ and focus on the substantive legal arguments surrounding these cases.
Only then will employees in Glasgow receive a proper hearing. At present, the council is using public funds to pay lawyers to engage in desperate delaying tactics. The two day tribunal hearing will be run at taxpayers’ expense, but will not address any legitimate legal arguments about equal pay.
Glasgow clients are welcome – in fact entitled – to attend next week’s hearing which is taking place at the Glasgow Employment Tribunal offices on Wednesday 22 (and possibly Thursday 23) October 2008 – best to get there for 9.30am.
If you are planning to attend the Employment Tribunal address is: the Eagle Building, 215 Bothwell Street, Glasgow, G2 7TS: 5-minutes walk west along Bothwell Street from Central Station in the direction of Finnieston.
