Self-Help in South Lanarkshire
A number of readers from South Lanarkshire have been in touch - asking what they can do to help hold the council to account over Single Status and Equal Pay.
Well the best thing people can do is to keep raising the issue locally - with your local councillors, MSPs and even your trade union.
Because the next ten months are going to be very interesting - with South Lanarkshire Council facing local elections in May 2012.
And while there may well be developments long before then - there's nothing like an election to get the attention of politicians.
The present Labour adminstration - which runs South Lanarkshire Council - is in power through the support of the Conservative councillors who voted to support Labour as the party with most seats - at the last election in 2007.
Now a change of power within one party, or from one party to another - is not a miracle cure - and all kinds of permutations are possible.
But a 'new broom' within the council - would be much more likely to shine a light on what's been happening with Single Status and Equal Pay - all these years.
By opening the books - so to speak.
And lots of people are already highly critical of South Lanarkshire Council's behaviour - for example in the following areas:
1 The lack of transparent pay information surrounding male and female council jobs
2 The refusal to comply with the FOI decision of the Scottish Information Commissioner
3 The lack of scrutiny on Single Status and Equal Pay from councillors and council committees
As the debate heats up - councillors, MSPs and others will have to decide where they stand on these issues.
Some will do the right thing - by looking at the facts and speaking their mind - and those are the people to be working with in the weeks ahead.
Well the best thing people can do is to keep raising the issue locally - with your local councillors, MSPs and even your trade union.
Because the next ten months are going to be very interesting - with South Lanarkshire Council facing local elections in May 2012.
And while there may well be developments long before then - there's nothing like an election to get the attention of politicians.
The present Labour adminstration - which runs South Lanarkshire Council - is in power through the support of the Conservative councillors who voted to support Labour as the party with most seats - at the last election in 2007.
Now a change of power within one party, or from one party to another - is not a miracle cure - and all kinds of permutations are possible.
But a 'new broom' within the council - would be much more likely to shine a light on what's been happening with Single Status and Equal Pay - all these years.
By opening the books - so to speak.
And lots of people are already highly critical of South Lanarkshire Council's behaviour - for example in the following areas:
1 The lack of transparent pay information surrounding male and female council jobs
2 The refusal to comply with the FOI decision of the Scottish Information Commissioner
3 The lack of scrutiny on Single Status and Equal Pay from councillors and council committees
As the debate heats up - councillors, MSPs and others will have to decide where they stand on these issues.
Some will do the right thing - by looking at the facts and speaking their mind - and those are the people to be working with in the weeks ahead.
