Mark Irvine - Blogger, Campaigner, Organiser

Here's an article from today's Herald - which highlights some rather strange goings on at Inverclyde Council. Four council officials have apparently been suspended over some madcap scheme that saved Inverclyde Council £250,000 - but cost over £500,000 on external consultancy fees. Any sensible person will be asking why these officials are not resigning their highly paid positions - instead of being suspended - presumably on full pay. But in the sometimes crazy world that our local councils live in - they's probably be allowed to retire early - with a healthy boost to their pensions. "Troubled council elects new leader" by Gerry Braiden 26 Feb 2011 "INVERCLYDE Council, which has been beset by upheaval and rancour in recent months, has elected a new leader after the previous holder of the post stood down for family reasons. Iain McKenzie, who was the deputy leader, replaces Stephen McCabe as head of the Labour-led administration. The move follows a change at th...

The celebrity lawyers representing the WikiLeaks founder - Julian Assange - have lost the latest round of their court battle to prevent his extradition to Sweden - to face two complaints of sexual assault. But in doing so they have launched an extraordinary attack on European arrest warrants - used to extradite suspected criminals - claiming that the warrants represent 'tick box' justice, whatever that means. Now unless I've got this wrong the UK criminal justice authorities announced - earlier this week - that they've just issued warrants for the arrest of 10 suspected British criminals - including alleged murderers and rapists. Who all fled to the Costa del Crime in Spain - in an effort to avoid facing justice in the UK. So what's the big deal? What's sauce for the goose should be sauce for the gander - Mr Assange should face the music and get on the next plane to Stockholm - his endless consipracy theories are becoming boring.

BBC Scotland ran a major story last night on the links between the former deputy leader of South Lanarkshire Council - Michael McCann, now Labour MP for East Kilbride - and a wealthy property developer, James Kean The background to the story is explained in the following article from the BBC's web site. "Labour MP's friendship prompts council planning concern" By Mark Daly - BBC Scotland Investigations Correspondent Councillor faces developer claims "There has been a demand for a criminal investigation into the planning process of one of Scotland's biggest councils after a BBC investigation revealed relationships between a millionaire developer and senior politicians. The investigation reveals allegations that Michael McCann, the new Labour MP for East Kilbride, Strathhaven and Lesmahagow, has had an undeclared relationship with local property tycoon and Labour donor James Kean. Mr McCann did not declare a relationship whilst he was a councillor, serving on t...

Unison has again written to its members in South Lanarkshire Council - asking if any members want the union to take up an equal pay claim on their behalf. Yes, this is the same union that is not even involved in the ongoing South Lanarkshire claims - at the Employment Tribunal in Glasgow. And yes, this is the same union that hasn't been involved in the fight for equal pay - for the past five years and more. Anyone who has a claim with Action 4 Equality Scotland - can ignore these ridiculous letters. Which simply draw attention to Unison's lack action over equal pay - and its all too cosy relationship with many council employers.

A Glasgow reader - a home carer - has been in touch to say 'good luck' with the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) hearing on 8 and 9 March 2011. The reader says she felt pressured into signing her compromise agreement because of the lack of information and support - not just from the council, but from the trade unions as well. "I reckon I lost the best part of £15,000 if all my hours had been taken into account properly", she went on to say. "We got absolutely no advice or support from the lawyers present on the day and all the union reps had disappeared like snow off a dyke - leaving the members to fend for themselves." So there you have it - from someone who's given a lifetime of service to the council - and who has a right to feel badly let down.

I did my best to listen to Colonel Gaddafi's speech earlier today - but had to give up when my ears started to bleed. Now the Colonel may be more than a bit bonkers - he's not the only politician fond of deluding himself - as we know in this country all too well. But he's been the top banana in Libya for over 40 years - and seems intent on holding onto power for as long as he can. At one point he said there would be no more violence - then he warned his enemies would be hunted down like dogs - this from a man whose air force has been firing deadly missiles at unarmed civilians in recent days. Who knows where it will all end? But you have to admire the raw courage of the people - who are demanding change, democracy and freedom of speech.

A kind reader has passed on the following article from the Hamilton Advertiser. With so many low paid workers in South Lanarkshire Council still fighting for equal pay - isn't it interesting to note that public money is in such plentiful supply - when it comes to senior council officials. "Director of under-fire finance department on 'gardening leave' for two months" "The boss of South Lanarkshire Council’s beleaguered finance department has been on PAID ‘gardening leave’ since October, the Advertiser can reveal. Linda Hardie earned about £120,000 a year as director of the department who were scammed by African fraudsters and miscalculated by £40m the amount of cuts facing the council. She is unlikely to be back at her desk before April. By that time she will be 50 and is due to retire... on full pension. Insiders say her severance package comprises a lump sum of up to £250,000 and an annual pension estimated at between £30,000 and £50,000 a year. The counci...

The background to next month's Employment Tribunal Appeal (EAT) hearing - involving Glasgow City Council - is explained in the following post from 28 March 2008 - 'Ghosts of Christmas Past'. The events involved brought shame on a proud city like Glasgow - with the council 'persuading' thousands of low paid women workers to accept poor offers of settlement - while the trade unions deliberately looked the other way. So let's hope justice finally prevails at the EAT hearing - which is taking place in Edinburgh on 8 and 9 March 2011 . Ghosts of Christmas Past The Ghosts of Christmas Past are about to pay a visit to Glasgow City Council - and there's no doubt who's being cast in the role of Scrooge! Action 4 Equality and Stefan Cross are about to challenge the Compromise Agreement that around 12,000 employees were forced to sign in 2005 - just to get their hands on their own money. The council described this at the time as a one-off compensation payment, but ...

Last week a Scottish 'think tank' came up with a bright idea - or so they thought anyway. The Centre for Scottish Public Policy (CSPP) suggested that school education would benefit from concentrating teacher training into a single week - at the start of a school year - rather than being spread out in single days over the different school terms. The benefits of such a policy are pretty obvious - planning and organising training becomes easier - but more importantly the single shut down days could be used for other activities. But the idea drew a frosty and predictable response from the teaching unions - teachers need 13 weeks holiday a year they declared - the long summer break is essential for teachers to recharge their batteries. What an insult to other groups of workers - the classroom assistants and nursery nurses for example - who also work with children and young people. Yet these workers get paid only during the school term - they don't get paid for 52 weeks of the ye...

The decision of the last Labour government to cosy up to Colonel Gaddafi - now looks terribly ill-advised. The process started under Tony Blair - but was taken up enthusiastically by his successor, Gordon Brown. As Prime Minister, Gordon Brown pursued a secret policy of currying favour with the Libyan regime - with his covert support for releasing the Lockerbie bomber - while publicly distancing his party and government from the affair. Dictators are normally associated with that kind of duplicity - not serious minded politicians with a fully functioning moral compass. Whatever the present UK government has to say - about support for democracy and free speech - will be taken less seriously than it should because of our double dealing in the past.

Here are some weasel words issued on behalf of the Barclays Group - in response to the revelation that the bank paid tax amounting to only 2.4% of its record profits - in 2009. "The corporate tax affairs of an organisation with the global footprint of Barclays are complex, and not reducible to simplistic comparisons. Any link between Barclays Group profits and the amount of tax paid to the UK Government is inappropriate. There is no direct comparison between the two." Barclays UK corporation tax bill in 2009 was £113m - yet the company returned worldwide profits of £4.6 billion in that year. Even allowing for the fact that some - even a lot - of its profits came from operations outside the UK - that's one hell of a good tax rate.

Some folks will tell you that every pound of public spending - is a pound well spent. But don't listen to them - because they're either just plain daft - or they've got a vested interest in trying to defend the indefensible Here's a news story released today by the Press Association. "The former chief executive of a small district council received a total pay and pension package of almost £570,000 last year - four times the Prime Minister's £142,500 salary - it has emerged. Philip Dolan was handed £569,000 when he opted for redundancy from South Somerset District Council in March, as part of a restructuring which saw the authority share its chief executive with neighbouring East Devon. Two other senior executives at the council - the director of health and head of economic vitality - received more than £300,000 each. After taking voluntary redundancy at the age of 54, Mr Dolan received his normal salary of £157,000, along with a redundancy payment of £167,000 a...

Here's something I found out only the other day. The Labour party's Scottish leader - Iain Gray - is almost the same age as me. Apparently he was educated at George Watson's College in Edinburgh - before going on to study at Edinburgh University. Now the last time I looked, George Watson's College was a private school - and I presume the same was true back in the late 1960's and early 1970's. The fees today are almost £10,000 a year - even more than the student highest fees that the government is proposing for 'elite' universities like Oxford and Cambridge. But what I find odd is this. How come some people think it's OK to jump out of the state education system for five or six years - at a cost of £50,000 to £60,000 at today's prices? Yet also seem to believe they have a right to go on to study at university - only this time at public expense. Having bought themselves the benefits of a private education - why should the taxpayer subsidise the co...

The campaign over the Alternative Vote (AV) referendum kicked off in earnest today - with the Prime Minister (David Cameron) and Deputy Prime Minister (Nick Clegg) on opposite sides of the fence. How refreshing it is to see politicians, at the heart of government, airing their differences publicly - then inviting the voters to decide. As for me - I'm on the side of the Yes campaign. Because the AV system will take power away from the politicians - by denying them the ability to lord it over the rest of us - based on a minority share of the popular vote. The government of Margaret Thatcher enjoyed only 40% at best of the popular vote across the UK - but ruled like an elected dictatorship for 11 years - because of the iniquities of the first past the post system. So too did the governments that followed - including those led by Tony Blair and Gordon Brown - none of them achieved anywhere near 50% of the popular vote - not even New Labour's landslide victory in 1997. Who's on ...

The papers reported earlier this week that only 3 out of 19 Scottish councils - contacted in a survey - said they were prepared to guarantee the provision of free school milk. Interesting - because the news broke without any fuss or bother. Apparently, Moray Council stopped free milk last year - while Stirling, Angus and the Scottish Borders councils - provide free milk only to to nursery age children. West Lothian Council also plans to save £123,000 a year - by stopping free milk for early primary school children who do not receive free school meals. So perhaps it's not a such big issue after all.

Politics in Scotland just got a lot more interesting - with the publication of an opinion poll in the Times newspaper yesterday. The poll put the SNP in the lead for the Scottish Parliament elections in May - now only 10 weeks away - on both the Constituency and Regional List vote. The Ipsos Mori survey of more than 1,000 voters puts the SNP on 37% for the Constituency vote and 35% for the Regional List vote - with Labour trailing behind on 36% and 33% respectively. My Labour party friends have been telling me for months that the Holyrood election was in the bag - and that all they had to do was avoid any major mishaps - and coast gently towards a resounding victory in May. But maybe that's not the case now - maybe they've got a real fight on their hands - if the Times poll proves to be correct. Speaking as someone who is not a member or supporter of any political party - I think's that a good thing for democracy in Scotland - whichever party wins the most votes. Because in...

Lord Jeffrey Rooker - the former Labour MP - has been up to mischief in the House of Lords. The former Labour minister moved an amendment to the government's legislation on electoral reform which - if successful - would have imposed a minimum turnout of 40% in the referendum planned for May 2011. So if less than 40% of the electorate actually bothered to vote - no matter how big the majority, even a majority of 10 to 1 - the result would have been null and void. The same argument - about the need for a voting threshold - was used by various Labour MPs in the 1970s to scupper a Yes vote on devolution for Scotland. Now would Lord Rooker take the same view in trade union strike ballots - for example - where the turnout of union members often struggles to get above 40%? Would he take the same view in the ballots to elect trade union leaders - or in the votes to set up an affiliated political fund - in which only 10-15% of union members normally bother to vote? I think we should be tol...

The headteachers' trade union in England and Wales - the National Association of Headteachers - is threatening industrial action over plans to introduce career average pension schemes. How predictable - because final salary schemes mainly benefit the better paid council employees - and do nothing for the low paid. In fact the final salary arrangement means that low paid workers - are actually subsidising their much better paid colleagues. Because the average pay of a school cleaner, a school meals worker or a classroom assistant - stays pretty constant over the course of their working lives. Whereas a headteacher might become a 'heedie' for only ten years - yet their pension benefits are calculated on the much higher final salary - both the tax free lump sum and monthly pension payments. How can that be fair? Well the answer is that it's not remotely fair or sensible - and that's why a career average scheme would put everyone on the same footing. Under a care...

Have you noticed anything strange driving about Glasgow these days? What I see are cars weaving all over the road - in a west of Scotland version of Wacky Races - as drivers try to avoid mammoth potholes. In some parts of the city these are truly dangerous - the size of small cars - hence the reason for drivers taking equally dangerous evasive action. So today's Audit Scotland report on the state of our roads is to be welcomed. Because it highlights the fact that over £2.2 billion of essential repairs are needed - to bring our highways and by-ways up to an acceptable standard. The report explains that an extra £1 billion has been added to the repairs bill over the past six years - at a time when council budgets were growing - so spending cuts can't be blamed. In fact council budgets in Scotland more than doubled over the 10 years to 2007. So the real question is why has keeping our roads in order - been such a low priority for councils for all this time? Maybe as the Audit Scot...

The next round of hearings involving South Lanarkshire Council gets underway in March - and the first two days have been arranged as follows: Dates - Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 March 2011 Time - 10 am onwards Venue - Glasgow Employment Tribunal, Eagle Building, 215 Bothwell St, Glasgow G2 7TS The Glasgow Employment Tribunal is a short ten minute walk from Central Station - and individual claimants from South Lanarkshire Council are entitled to attend. If any readers do go along - make yourself known to Carol Fox who will be there on behalf of the Fox Cross legal team.

A regular reader has been in touch with a query about a recent post - 'Back in the Fold' - dated 14 February 2011. "Isn't that Councillor Tommy Williams the same firebrand socialist and supporter of Militant - from the 1980's?", the reader asks. Well if it's the same person I'm thinking of, then - yes - I believe that's correct. Because Tommy Williams was indeed a supporter of Militant - a controversial Trotskyite group that operated inside the Labour party for years. Most of the Militant supporters in Scotland followed their leader - Tommy Sheridan - into the Scottish Socialist Party. But some joined the more mainstream Labour Party - including Renfrewshire MSP Hugh Henry, if I remember correctly. As many people know, the Scottish Socialist Party has since split - over Tommy Sheridan's court antics and his decision to set up a rival socialist party - Solidarity. So it's a funny old world, as they say. If you have a query - or some informat...

So the Scottish bus tycoon Brian Souter has declared his intention to give £500,000 to the SNP - but only so long as other party supporters match his donation - pound for pound. An interesting idea - but one that has drawn a predictable response from other parties - notably Labour who are crying foul. Well at least you can say it's Brian Souter's money - unlike the millions of pounds that flow into the Labour Party's coffers every year from their own sugar daddies - the trade unions. And, of course, the union funds involved belong to ordinary members - funds which could be spent on vital issues for the members - such as fighting for equal pay Personally, I believe there should be a cap on all party donations - and that political parties should work much harder to persuade individual supporters and potential voters - to part with their hard earned cash. Because that way political parties would be more likely to listen - to what their grassroots supporters have to say. But of...

I have to admit - I can't get too worked about about this votes for prisoners malarkey. At one level it's plainly ridiculous that the civil rights of prisoners are a big priority - after all it's their own behaviour that sent them to jail. On the other hand - prisoners are not exactly clapped in leg irons these days - they get to smoke to their hearts content, watch unlimited satellite TV and - allegedly - drugs are more easily available inside the pokey than out on the streets. So what's the big deal about giving prisoners a postal vote - at least those who are not jailed for longer sentences and violent crimes. Very few would bother to vote - as everyone knows - and it's hardly likely to make a real demand on prison resources. But the real problem is that MPs are trying to curry favour with the public - by talking tough and coming out with this 'over my dead body' nonsense. All that is likely to achieve is a lot of bogus damages claims - from prisoners who...

The Sunday Mail reported yesterday that a councillor who fiddled £26,500 in false wages claims - has been welcomed back into the the Labour Party. Tommy Williams admitted submitting false time sheets to claim wages from Glasgow City Council - despite not doing any work. Because at the same time as he was submitting time sheets in Glasgow - he was also drawing a full-time salary - as a Labour councillor in Renfrewshire Council. Williams was forced to repay the cash - but walked away from court with a 'not proven' verdict - claiming that his boss at Glasgow City Council had sanctioned his bogus wages claims. The Labour group on Renfrewshire Council last week agreed that Williams would be welcomed back into the fold - which is truly bizarre. The standard of proof in a criminal court is different from that used in civil proceedings - or in most disciplinary procedures - where the test is based on the balance of probabilities. Whatever Tommy Williams may have claimed about other peo...

As regular readers know, a legal challenge is underway to the Compromise Agreements used by Glasgow City Council - in connection with people's equal pay claims back in 2005. The appeal hearing has now been listed and will be heard at the Employment Appeal Tribunal in Edinburgh - on 9th and 10th March 2011. Readers who signed a 2005 Compromise Agreement at one of the signing meetings in November or December 2005 - may wish to attend. The EAT address is 52 Melville Street, Edinburgh EH3 7HF - a short walk from Haymarket Station. Action 4 Equality Scotland clients will be represented by Jonathan Mitchell QC. The hearing will take place before a senior Judge - who will consider all the legal arguments and issue a decision in due course.

A regular reader from Midlothian has been in touch to say: "Dear Mark I finally received my settlement offer yesterday. It's been a long time coming, but was worth the wait in the end. Many thanks for all your hard work. BG"

The Herald published an interesting letter yesterday - about how the unions use their influence to secure the Labour party nomination in local selection contests. Except it doesn't always according to plan and sometimes - as the author of the letter explains - it sometimes ends up in choosing a candidate who's a complete dud. The answer is to take the union muscle out of the picture - then at least the process would select somone who genuinely reflects local party opinion. " You’re right in your editorial today to deplore the behaviour of the now convicted fraudster Jim Devine. The most extraordinary thing about the MPs’ expenses scandal has been the way in which many of our elected representatives have been shown to live in cocoons, sheltered from the realities of the world. The sheer arrogance of their petty pilfering has been astonishing and I’ve been left feeling let down by some Labour MPs in particular, who really should have known better. All parties have a mixed ...

Regular readers will no doubt be delighted to learn that Carol Fox - from Fox Cross Solicitors - has been shortlisted for the Scottish Legal Awards in 2011. Carol's nomination is fin the category of Specialist Lawyer of the Year - which is not surprising given her wide experience and credentials - in employment law and discrimination work. The winners will be announced at an Awards Ceremony on Thursday 17 March 2011 - at the International Conference Centre in Edinburgh. St. Patrick's Day - unless I'm mistaken. So if Carol wins I hereby promise to buy her a lovely pint of Guinness - as there could be no more appropriate beverage to celebrate such an splendid occasion.

As expected, the former Labour MP and Unison official - Jim Devine - has been found guilty of dishonestly claiming £8,385 in expenses - by using false invoices for cleaning and printing work. Devine will be sentenced in four weeks - and faces a maximum jail term of seven years - although he is unlikely to put him away for that length of time. The court heard that the case against Devine was "very straightforward" - and that the former MP had made dishonest, fraudulent claims. Meanwhile another former Labour MP - Eric Illsley - was sentenced to a year in jail after pleading guilty to dishonestly claiming £14,000 in parliamentary expenses. The claims were made in relation to the MP's second home - between 2005 and 2008. The trial judge said that Illsley's offences were less serious as the former MP had not created 'false documents to support the claims - which bodes ill for Devine when he returns to court for sentencing.

Things are not looking good for Jim Devine. The former Labour MP and Unison official is back in court today - for possibly the last day of his trial over parliamentary expenses. But by all accounts it's not looking good - the explanation given in court has been full of holes and inconsistencies - so the outcome may well be another MP being found guilty of false accounting. Meanwhile another Labour MP and former NUM official - has finally resigned his seat in the House of Commons. Eric Illsley, MP for Barnsley - previously pled guilty to similar charges over his expenses claims - and goes back to court tomorrow for sentencing. Unlike Jim Devine, Illsley was allowed to stand as a Labour candidate - and fight his seat at last year's general election. Ever since then he has been drawing his MP's salary - at public expense of course - but there will now finally be a by-election.

The WikiWars saga continues. Julian Assange is back in court trying desperately to prevent his extradition to that widely despised rogue state - with a supposedly weak legal system and poor track record on human rights - more commonly known as Sweden. The celebrity legal team defending Julian Assange has flown over a retired Swedish judge - Brita Sundberg-Weitman (a woman) - to give evidence against the Swedish prosecutor, Marianne Ny. The retired judge reportedly criticised the prosecutor for being a "radical feminist" and described her behaviour as "malicious", "peculiar" and displaying a "bias against men". But when cross-examined - the retired judge admitted that she had no direct knowledge of Ms Ny's (the prosecutor's) conduct. Confused - because if so, you're in good company? Instead of this ridiculous legal circus - Mr Assange should do us all a favour and hop on the next plane to Stockholm. Where he can deal with the case alle...

Sir Gus O'Donnell's report on the early release of the Libyan bomber - al Megrahi - from prison makes fascinating reading. Here's an extract from Page 90 of the report - a submission from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office - on how the UK government should play its hand. David Miliband was the Foreign Secretary at the time - and the submission was dated 22 January 2009. "Megrahi‟s health remains a key high risk issue. We do not want him to die in a Scottish jail, with the likely negative consequences for our relations with Libya. That he is prepared to abandon his appeal is a significant step – we should now work hard to enable transfer under the Prisoner Transfer Agreement." The UK government's view at the time was crystal clear - Megrahi should not be allowed to die in a Scottish jail. So why did they behave so completely differently - when he was finally released?

The Herald published an excellent letter from a retired firefighter the other day. Here's what he had to say - and you have to admit it's the perfect riposte to council bosses and bureaucrats - with their overblown 'respect' agenda. A little less 'respect' and a big injection of common sense then - as the retired firefighter says - we'll start getting somewhere. "Firefighters care about saving lives, not which authority employs them" "As a retired member of the Fire and Rescue Service, I must reply to Pat Watters and his assertions concerning a Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (“Cosla chief: Government lacks respect”, The Herald, February 1). I worked for more than 30 years in a Glasgow city centre station and at no time worried whether Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service or Glasgow City Council paid me, what the name on the engine was, or the construction of the eight Fire Boards in Scotland. I did have concerns about the number of fire fight...

A reader from South Lanarkshire has been searching the blog site - for a previous post on equal pay. Sometimes this can take a while - if you don't know the date you're looking for. So to make life easier all round - here's the post in question - Don't Get Mad - Get Even - from 19 November 2010. As far as I know, no one has yet seen the Unison assessment - referred to in bullet points 1 and 2. Does it really exist? Who knows - but when I find out - you'll find out. Don't Get Mad - Get Even As regular readers know - after years of being in denial - Unison has suddenly decided that some of its members in South Lanarkshire - might have an equal pay claim after all. See previous post dated 16 November 2010 - Unison in Turmoil. Sounds a little odd to me - especially as South Lanarkshire Council claims that Unison has been at the heart of local negotiations over single status - since 1999. But set that aside for a minute and consider what Unison is actually saying -...

Politics is a dirty business - war without guns, as they say. And never more so than over the early release of the Libyan bomber - al Megrahi - who is now dying (albeit slowly) in the care of his family - rather than alone in a Scottish prison cell. But the report of the cabinet secretary - Gus O'Donnell - lays bare what a sordid business this whole affair has been. Because we now know that the last Labour government was doing all in its power to secure Megrahi's' early release - as Gus ODonnell's report makes clear. Yet while this secret diplomacy was underway - the UK government was giving completely the opposite impression - t o victims' families - on both sides of the Atlantic - and to the people of Scotland. Now politicians are guilty sometimes of saying one thing - then doing another - although on this occasion the duplicity was taking place at different ends of the Labour party. While Gordon Brown and David Miliband (foreign secretary at the time) were privat...

South Lanarkshire Council has been blowing its own trumpet this week - with an announcement about a possible pay rise for some council workers. Now don't get too excited. Because the council is talking about a small pay rise for some employees - which would take them to £7.16 per hour - or an increase of £250 a year (£4.80 a week) if an employee already earns more than £7.16 an hour. Council employees paid more than £21,000 a year - will get no pay rise at all. But of course this has nothing to do with equal pay - nothing at all. Why? Because if there was equal pay in South Lanarkshire Council - between male and female jobs - then the low paid women workers would have been getting paid substantially more than £7.16 an hour - several years ago. And that is what people's equal pay claims in South Lanarkshire are all about - recovering the money that many council workers have been underpaid for the past ten years. The council's announcement does not deal with the issue of peop...

The Unison branch in South Lanarkshire has issued another of its briefings on equal pay - but the content is as predictable as ever. Unison has written to all members in South Lanarkshire - saying that they might have an equal pay claim after all - after years of advising people not to take up claims against the council. As a result many members are spitting mad at the union - and its contradictory advice over the years. In the recent letter to members - Unison advised that it had carried out an assessment of potential claims in South Lanarkshire. But the union has not provided members with any details of this new assessment - or explained why the Unison is having second thoughts about its original advice. The problem for Unison is that members who failed to take up an equal pay claim because of the union's earlier advice - may well have a significant claim against the union itself. Because these members are being asked to think again - but five years too late. South Lanarkshire em...

I put a post up on the blog site ages ago - about how to deal with a rogue factor - but forgot to follow this up. So here are some practical steps that people can take - if you are dealing with one of these cowboy factors. The key thing is to set up a Residents Association and draw up a list of demands - for everyone to organise and rally around. In this case a 'Charter' - which had the effect of running the rogue factor out of town - in double quick time. Like many other things in life the answer is: educate, agitate, organise ! 1 Meetings We believe that there should be at least two owners meetings per year with the Factor – one of which will coincide with the Residents Association Annual General Meeting (AGM) – and all owners will be invited to attend 2 Annual Budget We believe that the annual Maintenance Budget should set at the AGM by the owners – having received a written report and any further advice from the Factor, as necessary 3 Consultation We believe that Factor sh...

One of the reasons that MPs' expenses are back in the headlines again is that IPSA - the expenses watchdog - has published a list of rejected claims. And MPs don't like being 'named and shamed' - particularly when 125 honourable members had claims rejected. The list published by IPSA includes the ministers Ed Davey, Ed Vaizey Maria Miller and Peter Luff - along with well known and experienced Labour MPs including Jack Straw and Harriet Harman. The Conservative MP for Hereford - Jesse Norman - had the largest sum of £1,504.01 rejected for office furniture. Overall, the rejected claims amounted to just £15,352 - out of the total £3.64m expenses bill for September and October. But under the new system MPs who have their expenses rejected are being named - which they don't like one little bit. The publication of all expenses claims for September and October 2010 revealed that: # 71 MPs had 154 individual claims fully rejected, with a total value of £11,500. # Anothe...

Lots of readers from Midlothian have been in touch in recent days. Apparently rumours are sweeping the council - about possible developments on equal pay. An update letter will be sent out to Action 4 Equality Scotland clients - in Midlothian Council - next week. So in the meantime - sit tight. And don't rely on the rumour mill for your news.

A reader from Edinburgh has been in touch to point out that the huge cost of the 'Auld Reekie' Trams Project - was foisted on the present government - by a vote in the Scottish Parliament. See post dated 2 February 2011 - Spending Public Money. And that's correct, I think - my memory of events is that all the other parties (Labour, Lib Dems and Tories) ganged up and forced a vote - which gave the government no choice to stump up the £500 million cost. £500 million which now seems to be rapidly going down the drain. So some politicians do seem bear more of a responsibility for this fiasco than others - that seems a fair statement. But if anyone knows better - then drop me a note as I'm always happy to set the record straight. Quite how the politicians involved will be held to account for making such a hash of things - is another matter. Someone should call for a stewards' enquiry - because £500 million is one hell of a lot of public money to waste.

MPs' expenses are back in the news again. But this time because our elected representatives are complaining about being held too closely to account by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA). IPSA was set up in the wake of the MPs' expenses scandal - and has introduced a new and much tougher regime - which MPs don't like one little bit. The Leader of the House of Commons - Sir George Young - has released a highly critical statement of IPSA - here's an extract of what he had to say: ''I believe that the current expenses scheme, as designed, implemented and administered by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, is failing in many respects adequately to support MPs to undertake their responsibilities. ''There are some highly unsatisfactory features of the scheme that are at best distracting, and at worst impeding, MPs from doing their jobs. ''In addition, some aspects of the new regime are in danger of deterring people f...

The Accounts Commission for Scotland and Audit Scotland - have just released a report on the future of Edinburgh's trams. The upshot is that they asking the Scottish Government to consider stepping in - to try and rescue the ailing project via Transport Scotland - the government's national transport agency. Some of the key points in the report are: Utilities diversion works are 97 per cent complete and almost three-quarters of the tram vehicles have been purchased. But due to the contractual dispute - between Edinburgh City Council and the contractor - only 28 per cent of infrastructure work has been completed. The actual target was for 99% of infrastructure work to be completed - by the end of December 2010. So far, £402 million of the total budget has been spent on Phase 1a - which is intended to run from Edinburgh Airport to Leith Waterfront. £402 million represents 74 per cent of the total funding budget currently available - with only 28% of the infrastructure completed. T...

A number of readers have been in touch asking about the best way to raise issues with Unison. Well I'm a great believer in not beating about the bush. So if you are a Unison member or have a query about the union - I would go straight to the top. By contacting the new regional secretary in Scotland, Mike Kirby - who for years was a well-known figure in the union's Glasgow branch. Mike details are available from the Unison web site - but are also reproduced below for easy reference: Mike Kirby Tel: 0845 355 0845 E-mail: m.kirby@unison.co.uk I always thought these 0845 numbers were expensive to ring from a mobile. But maybe I'm wrong - or maybe something more user and member friendly is now being put in place.

Here's an e-mail from Michael McMahon MSP - sent in response to a reader who raised an query about equal pay in South Lanarkshire Council. Seldom have I read so much self-serving, ill-informed nonsense - and from an MSP who is apparently Scottish Labour's spokesperson on Local Government. "Dear Colleague I am very much aware of this issue and have taken part in debates in the Parliament and held numerous discussions with local authority trade unions in relation to this matter. Unfortunately, it is a fact that a resolution to this issue rest with each individual council following discussions with the appropriate trade unions, although the Scottish Parliament has the responsibility for ensuring that the Scottish Government provides the necessary resources for agreements to be met. Council’s should have settled this matter a long time ago but most failed to do so in spite of having been provided with additional resources from the previous Scottish Executive for that purpose. ...

The newspapers report today that the Governor of the Bank of England - Mervyn King - has had an extra £1.4 million added to his pension pot. Now this is the same man who is telling the rest of the country to tighten its belts - but clearly he has no intention of leading by example. Apparently when Mervyn King leaves his position in 2013 - he will be eligible to draw an annual pension equivalent to £198,200 today - more than the Prime Minister's annual salary. What his tax free lump sum will be - is nobody's business - but you can bet your house on the fact that it will be an awful lot of money. So why the Governor needs a £1.4 million top up - is as clear as mud. The Court of the Bank which decides such matters - offered no explanation for its very generous behaviour to an already highly paid official. Sound familiar? In a speech last week, Mervyn King said disposable incomes will fall to 2005 levels - as wages fail to keep pace with inflation and tax rises and benefit cuts bit...

The Sunday Times ran an interesting article about the outside earnings of former Prime Minister - Gordon Brown MP. In addition to making highly paid speeches - one in Nigeria last year earned him £62,181 for four hours work - Gordon Brown has also been appointed to a new position at New York University,. As a 'distinguished global leader in residence' GB is to be paid £75,554 for agreeing to spend two weeks a year - attending and addressing public functions at the university's New York campus. In addition the MP for Fife has to free up a second week for duties in Abu Dhabi - and a fourth week to attend one of the university's 12 'study abroad' sites. So that's a month in total - for more money than his MP's salary of £65,738 a year plus expenses - not counting his other speaking engagements of course. The Labour party used to criticise the Tories for having highly paid second and third jobs outside parliament - and quite rightly so. Why should an MP be p...

Good news - the Accounts Commission for Scotland - an independent public body that oversees council spending - has agreed to investigate a complaint I made about South Lanarkshire Council. The Accounts Commission has referred the matter to South Lanarkshire's external auditors - PwC (Price Waterhouse Coopers). Here's what my complaint said: "Dear Accounts Commission South Lanarkshire Council I would like to register a complaint with the Accounts Commission for Scotland regarding the behaviour of South Lanarkshire Council. My complaint is about the huge cost incurred by the council in releasing a former Executive Director of Corporate Services - whose fixed term contract came to an end on 31st March 2006. I wrote to South Lanarkshire Council asking for an explanation of these events, but the chief executive has offered no explanation or justification of the council’s behaviour - other than to point, in very general terms, towards the Local Government Pension Scheme regulati...

The Guardian published a thoughtful article by Phillip Inman the other day - highlighting trade union hypocrisy over public sector pensions. Here are some of the key points from the piece: "With pension reforms on the way, the public sector unions must not defend the better-off in the name of ordinary workers. Who would be a public sector union leader? The pay might be decent, but the axe-wielding this week and Lord Hutton's report on public service pensions means it's going to be a tough two years. If George Osborne marries his spending cuts with Hutton's message of higher pension contributions, lower benefits and longer working, Unison's Dave Prentis and his fellow union leaders will be forced to square up. On the face of it the unions have a strong hand. Militancy should be guaranteed. Yet two barriers stand in the way. Job cuts, which are already underway, will be piecemeal, without any obvious flashpoint for industrial action. Then there is the pensions debate...