Glasgow and Low Pay
Glasgow City Council seems to be coming round to Action 4 Equality Scotland’s way of thinking – by agreeing (albeit belatedly) - that many jobs done by female workers are undervalued and underpaid.
Steven Purcell, the council leader, announced a pay increase for at least some of the council’s lowest paid workers – but chose the Scottish Labour party conference to break the news.
So, what’s going on?
Mr Purcell says that it is ‘unacceptable’ that almost one in five of Glasgow's workers are paid less than £7 an hour.
The council can only enforce the new minimum wage on staff it directly employs, but Mr Purcell hopes that other employers in the city will follow suit.
The council intends to work with employers in the public, private and voluntary sector to encourage them to pay low-paid workers a decent wage – apparently.
The council says that the pay increase will apply to around 681 employees – which is all rather odd – because there must be a lot more than 681workers in the council who are currently paid less than £7.00 per hour.
Direct and Care alone employs around 9,000 staff – and most of the cleaners and many of the catering workers will be on less than £7.00 an hour.
So where do the 681 workers come from – what jobs do they do – and why does the announcement not apply council-wide?
By choosing to break the news at the Scottish Labour party conference - the council leader was engaging in a bit of good old-fashioned party politicking.
But has council jumped before it gets pushed – due to the mounting problems with the WPBR (Workforce Pay and Benefits Review)?
Because as we’ve reported before – see posts dated 9 and 18 February 2009 – the WPBR treats part-time workers (mainly women) less favourably than full-time workers (mainly men) – which we believe to be discriminatory.
So, maybe the council is simply facing up to the inevitable.
Whatever happens, Glasgow’s WPBR is coming under increasing scrutiny – and if Action 4 Equality Scotland is correct - there are a lot more than 681 workers in Glasgow who deserve a better deal.
Steven Purcell, the council leader, announced a pay increase for at least some of the council’s lowest paid workers – but chose the Scottish Labour party conference to break the news.
So, what’s going on?
Mr Purcell says that it is ‘unacceptable’ that almost one in five of Glasgow's workers are paid less than £7 an hour.
The council can only enforce the new minimum wage on staff it directly employs, but Mr Purcell hopes that other employers in the city will follow suit.
The council intends to work with employers in the public, private and voluntary sector to encourage them to pay low-paid workers a decent wage – apparently.
The council says that the pay increase will apply to around 681 employees – which is all rather odd – because there must be a lot more than 681workers in the council who are currently paid less than £7.00 per hour.
Direct and Care alone employs around 9,000 staff – and most of the cleaners and many of the catering workers will be on less than £7.00 an hour.
So where do the 681 workers come from – what jobs do they do – and why does the announcement not apply council-wide?
By choosing to break the news at the Scottish Labour party conference - the council leader was engaging in a bit of good old-fashioned party politicking.
But has council jumped before it gets pushed – due to the mounting problems with the WPBR (Workforce Pay and Benefits Review)?
Because as we’ve reported before – see posts dated 9 and 18 February 2009 – the WPBR treats part-time workers (mainly women) less favourably than full-time workers (mainly men) – which we believe to be discriminatory.
So, maybe the council is simply facing up to the inevitable.
Whatever happens, Glasgow’s WPBR is coming under increasing scrutiny – and if Action 4 Equality Scotland is correct - there are a lot more than 681 workers in Glasgow who deserve a better deal.
