North Lanarkshire Council
Here's a copy of a letter to the Leader of North Lanarkshire Council - Councillor Jim McCabe.
Action 4 Equality Scotland will be encouraging clients in North Lanarkshire to lobby their MPs, MSPs and local councillors - in the run up to the vital GMF hearing in April.
More and more councils are entering into settlement negotiations - our aim is to persuade North Lanarkshire to do the same - more details will follow.
Action 4 Equality Scotland
44 York Place
Edinburgh
EH1 3HU
22 January 2010
Councillor Jim McCabe
Leader of North Lanarkshire Council
By e-mail
Dear Councillor McCabe
North Lanarkshire Council and Equal Pay
As you may know, Action 4 Equality Scotland is currently pursuing 1808 equal pay claims, in the Employment Tribunals, against North Lanarkshire Council.
The majority of these cases are known as RAE (rated as equivalent) claims because the jobs involved have already been rated or valued under a common job evaluation scheme; in this case the one contained in the old Manual Workers Green Book.
The Local Government and Communities committee of the Scottish Parliament recently urged councils in Scotland to address these RAE claims on a pragmatic basis because the underlying legal issues involved are very straightforward and, broadly speaking, the employers have little, if any, chance of successfully defending their position.
The Employment Tribunal has set firm dates in April 2010 for a GMF (Genuine Material Factor) hearing of the North Lanarkshire Council cases. At this hearing, the council will be required to explain and justify what it now accepts were the discriminatory pay arrangements that applied previously (to these RAE claimants) in low paid, predominantly female, manual worker jobs.
We have instructed Daphne Romney, QC – one of the country’s leading equal pay barristers – to represent our clients at the North Lanarkshire GMF hearing. Daphne Romney was also instructed for the GMF hearing involving Glasgow City Council in 2009.
Action 4 Equality Scotland has negotiated settlements with various other councils in the recent past including: Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling, North Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, Aberdeenshire and East Ayrshire councils. Active settlement discussions are also underway with Falkirk and East Lothian councils
I am approaching you in the same spirit to see if North Lanarkshire Council is prepared to reach a fair and reasonable settlement of the outstanding claims. If so, then a GMF hearing may not need to proceed, thus saving the council considerable time and expense.
MSPs and MPs have shown an interest in this subject. I am copying this letter to those in the North Lanarkshire Council area, so they know that Action 4 Equality Scotland is prepared to act responsibly and negotiate on behalf of clients in North Lanarkshire, as elsewhere.
If council officials are interested in taking up this offer, we are happy to meet on an informal ‘without prejudice’ basis in the first instance, to assess what progress can be made.
Kind regards
Mark Irvine
cc Gavin Whitefield, Chief Executive – North Lanarkshire Council
Action 4 Equality Scotland will be encouraging clients in North Lanarkshire to lobby their MPs, MSPs and local councillors - in the run up to the vital GMF hearing in April.
More and more councils are entering into settlement negotiations - our aim is to persuade North Lanarkshire to do the same - more details will follow.
Action 4 Equality Scotland
44 York Place
Edinburgh
EH1 3HU
22 January 2010
Councillor Jim McCabe
Leader of North Lanarkshire Council
By e-mail
Dear Councillor McCabe
North Lanarkshire Council and Equal Pay
As you may know, Action 4 Equality Scotland is currently pursuing 1808 equal pay claims, in the Employment Tribunals, against North Lanarkshire Council.
The majority of these cases are known as RAE (rated as equivalent) claims because the jobs involved have already been rated or valued under a common job evaluation scheme; in this case the one contained in the old Manual Workers Green Book.
The Local Government and Communities committee of the Scottish Parliament recently urged councils in Scotland to address these RAE claims on a pragmatic basis because the underlying legal issues involved are very straightforward and, broadly speaking, the employers have little, if any, chance of successfully defending their position.
The Employment Tribunal has set firm dates in April 2010 for a GMF (Genuine Material Factor) hearing of the North Lanarkshire Council cases. At this hearing, the council will be required to explain and justify what it now accepts were the discriminatory pay arrangements that applied previously (to these RAE claimants) in low paid, predominantly female, manual worker jobs.
We have instructed Daphne Romney, QC – one of the country’s leading equal pay barristers – to represent our clients at the North Lanarkshire GMF hearing. Daphne Romney was also instructed for the GMF hearing involving Glasgow City Council in 2009.
Action 4 Equality Scotland has negotiated settlements with various other councils in the recent past including: Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling, North Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, Aberdeenshire and East Ayrshire councils. Active settlement discussions are also underway with Falkirk and East Lothian councils
I am approaching you in the same spirit to see if North Lanarkshire Council is prepared to reach a fair and reasonable settlement of the outstanding claims. If so, then a GMF hearing may not need to proceed, thus saving the council considerable time and expense.
MSPs and MPs have shown an interest in this subject. I am copying this letter to those in the North Lanarkshire Council area, so they know that Action 4 Equality Scotland is prepared to act responsibly and negotiate on behalf of clients in North Lanarkshire, as elsewhere.
If council officials are interested in taking up this offer, we are happy to meet on an informal ‘without prejudice’ basis in the first instance, to assess what progress can be made.
Kind regards
Mark Irvine
cc Gavin Whitefield, Chief Executive – North Lanarkshire Council
