Wishaw Press
Here's an interesting article fom the Wishaw Press - about the activities of the GMB union in North Lanarkshire Council.
Yes, these are the same people who have the bare faced cheek - every now and then - to try and poach clients from Action 4 Equality Scotland - the 'brass neck' of some folks never ceases to amaze.
"North Lanarkshire union members angry over lost pay claim documents
Jun 23 2010 by Graham Miller, Wishaw Press
A GROUP of North Lanarkshire Council workers may lose out on significant equal pay settlements because, they claim, their union have “lost” vital documents.
Six female community centre caretakers allege that, in November 2004, they commenced equal pay claims through the GMB union.
All the women were represented by the union at the internal grievance hearing stage of the process with North Lanarkshire Council.
In recent weeks, the women have been made aware of colleagues and other NLC workers having their claims settled – with offers in some cases in excess of £14,000.
However, when they contacted GMB for clarification on the status of their claims, they’ve discovered none of the claims were registered with employment tribunals. This means the women stand to lose out on several years of their claim.
One disgruntled GMB member said: “It has turned into an absolute nightmare. After waiting almost six years, and watching other people begin to receive settlement figures, I’ve been told that my claim was never registered with the appropriate employment tribunal.
“After all these years of paying my monthly subs to the union, I’ve been extremely disappointed by the way I’ve been treated by GMB. It appears that they’re unwilling to accept that they are at fault. I now feel I’m going to have to take legal advice in an attempt to resolve this.”
Mark Irvine from the campaign group Action 4 Equality Scotland said: “ In the circumstances, you would think that the unions would put their hands up, admit their mistake and agree to compensate people for their financial loss.
“But so far at least this hasn’t happened. In fact, people are just being fobbed off and have not even been given a sensible explanation as to what went wrong and why?”
Harry Donaldson, regional secretary for GMB, said: “We are not in a position to make any comment at present other than the matter of equal pay claims are the subject of ongoing employment tribunals which I would not wish to prejudice.”
Wishaw Press have reported North Lanarkshire Council are being made to pay almost £16 million to hundreds of workers to avoid further legal proceedings over equal pay claims."
Yes, these are the same people who have the bare faced cheek - every now and then - to try and poach clients from Action 4 Equality Scotland - the 'brass neck' of some folks never ceases to amaze.
"North Lanarkshire union members angry over lost pay claim documents
Jun 23 2010 by Graham Miller, Wishaw Press
A GROUP of North Lanarkshire Council workers may lose out on significant equal pay settlements because, they claim, their union have “lost” vital documents.
Six female community centre caretakers allege that, in November 2004, they commenced equal pay claims through the GMB union.
All the women were represented by the union at the internal grievance hearing stage of the process with North Lanarkshire Council.
In recent weeks, the women have been made aware of colleagues and other NLC workers having their claims settled – with offers in some cases in excess of £14,000.
However, when they contacted GMB for clarification on the status of their claims, they’ve discovered none of the claims were registered with employment tribunals. This means the women stand to lose out on several years of their claim.
One disgruntled GMB member said: “It has turned into an absolute nightmare. After waiting almost six years, and watching other people begin to receive settlement figures, I’ve been told that my claim was never registered with the appropriate employment tribunal.
“After all these years of paying my monthly subs to the union, I’ve been extremely disappointed by the way I’ve been treated by GMB. It appears that they’re unwilling to accept that they are at fault. I now feel I’m going to have to take legal advice in an attempt to resolve this.”
Mark Irvine from the campaign group Action 4 Equality Scotland said: “ In the circumstances, you would think that the unions would put their hands up, admit their mistake and agree to compensate people for their financial loss.
“But so far at least this hasn’t happened. In fact, people are just being fobbed off and have not even been given a sensible explanation as to what went wrong and why?”
Harry Donaldson, regional secretary for GMB, said: “We are not in a position to make any comment at present other than the matter of equal pay claims are the subject of ongoing employment tribunals which I would not wish to prejudice.”
Wishaw Press have reported North Lanarkshire Council are being made to pay almost £16 million to hundreds of workers to avoid further legal proceedings over equal pay claims."
