Mutton Dressed As Lamb
A kind reader has sent in an extract from the latest Unison branch newsletter in South Lanarkshire - which is reproduced below for information.
The 'love-in' between council bosses and union leaders is nothing new - but what is new is the amount of spin involved - as if the so-called 'living wage' is the best thing since sliced bread.
Which it's not - of course - it's more a case of 'mutton dressed as lamb'.
Why?
Because there's no back pay involved - the so called 'living wage' does nothing to address the pay inequalities in South Lanarkshire for the past 10 years .
Nor does it get to grips with the ongoing differences in pay between male and female jobs - which Single Status was supposed to sort out back in 1999.
Not one of the thousands of women with an equal pay claim in South Lanarkshire - will get a penny of compensation for what's happened in the past.
And the big pay differences between female jobs (such as carers, cooks and cleaners) - and male jobs (such as refuse workers and gardeners) will remain.
That's why so many employees have equal pay claims with Action 4 Equality Scotland - while the unions and the employer cosy up to each other.
I put something up on the blog site about this last month - which I'll post again - meantime here's the self-congratulatory union/council piece.
But just remember - self-praise is no praise.
"INTRODUCTION OF THE LIVING WAGE"
"Just for a change there's some good news for our low paid members as South Lanarkshire Council agrees to implement the living wage.
As a result,many low paid members will receive a pay rise far better than they have received in recent years through national pay awards. Almost half of the workforce should benefit from the increase. Credit for this achievement must go to our Branch Secretary Stephen Smellie for his tenacity in highlighting the level of low pay in local government. Over many years he has urged employers to deliver a fairer deal for our low paid members and taken every opportunity to highlight the issue of low pay
This year in particular he wrote to every SLC councillor,highlighting the impact of the budget cuts and how the pay freeze would badly affect not just employees, but their families and the economy of the local communities where the majority of our wages are spent. In the last Unison briefing Stephen explained the concept of the living wage and asked members to email Council leader Eddie McAvoy to demand its introduction in South Lanarkshire.
Cllr McAvoy has proved sympathetic and has now led the council to implement the living wage. Corporate Personnel has worked to restructure the bottom end of the SLC pay scales to make the minimum hourly rate £7.16 from 1 April as well as amending increments so that there will be pay increases for employees who earn below £21000 per annum (pro rata to a 37 hour working week) although a couple of other councils in Scotland have introduced the living wage. SLC is the first to deliver benefits to those in the under £21000 category. If that includes you you should see the increase in your pay in late May (June for trust employees) with backdating to 1st April 2011.The committee report on the living wage, including the old and new scales is attached with this news letter."
The 'love-in' between council bosses and union leaders is nothing new - but what is new is the amount of spin involved - as if the so-called 'living wage' is the best thing since sliced bread.
Which it's not - of course - it's more a case of 'mutton dressed as lamb'.
Why?
Because there's no back pay involved - the so called 'living wage' does nothing to address the pay inequalities in South Lanarkshire for the past 10 years .
Nor does it get to grips with the ongoing differences in pay between male and female jobs - which Single Status was supposed to sort out back in 1999.
Not one of the thousands of women with an equal pay claim in South Lanarkshire - will get a penny of compensation for what's happened in the past.
And the big pay differences between female jobs (such as carers, cooks and cleaners) - and male jobs (such as refuse workers and gardeners) will remain.
That's why so many employees have equal pay claims with Action 4 Equality Scotland - while the unions and the employer cosy up to each other.
I put something up on the blog site about this last month - which I'll post again - meantime here's the self-congratulatory union/council piece.
But just remember - self-praise is no praise.
"INTRODUCTION OF THE LIVING WAGE"
"Just for a change there's some good news for our low paid members as South Lanarkshire Council agrees to implement the living wage.
As a result,many low paid members will receive a pay rise far better than they have received in recent years through national pay awards. Almost half of the workforce should benefit from the increase. Credit for this achievement must go to our Branch Secretary Stephen Smellie for his tenacity in highlighting the level of low pay in local government. Over many years he has urged employers to deliver a fairer deal for our low paid members and taken every opportunity to highlight the issue of low pay
This year in particular he wrote to every SLC councillor,highlighting the impact of the budget cuts and how the pay freeze would badly affect not just employees, but their families and the economy of the local communities where the majority of our wages are spent. In the last Unison briefing Stephen explained the concept of the living wage and asked members to email Council leader Eddie McAvoy to demand its introduction in South Lanarkshire.
Cllr McAvoy has proved sympathetic and has now led the council to implement the living wage. Corporate Personnel has worked to restructure the bottom end of the SLC pay scales to make the minimum hourly rate £7.16 from 1 April as well as amending increments so that there will be pay increases for employees who earn below £21000 per annum (pro rata to a 37 hour working week) although a couple of other councils in Scotland have introduced the living wage. SLC is the first to deliver benefits to those in the under £21000 category. If that includes you you should see the increase in your pay in late May (June for trust employees) with backdating to 1st April 2011.The committee report on the living wage, including the old and new scales is attached with this news letter."
