Crying Wolf
South Lanarkshire Council is in a bit of a flap about the recent local press coverage - on equal pay.
So much so that the council has issued a big long, rambling statement - trying to defend the 'indefensible'.
I was contacted earlier this week - by the local press - to respond to the council's comments.
Here's what I had to say:
“South Lanarkshire Council is clearly rattled that the truth is finally coming out. If the Council had nothing to hide, why did it fight tooth and nail to prevent the admission about its ‘indefensible bonus schemes’ being made public?
No other Council in Scotland has behaved in this secretive, furtive fashion. South Lanarkshire is alone in keeping its workforce in the dark about pay arrangements for traditional male jobs.
While these ‘indefensible bonuses’ were finally ended in 2002 they remain the basis on which traditional male jobs are paid today – meanwhile most women’s jobs are still stuck at the bottom of the pay ladder.
If South Lanarkshire employees win their case, they will be entitled to back-pay and sums of money they should have received years ago – just as many council employees have done in neighbouring Glasgow and North Lanarkshire.
People should also be aware that South Lanarkshire’s budget actually doubled in the ten years up to 2007 – a period when the Council was really just ‘crying wolf’ over the cost of ending blatant discrimination against its largely female workforce.”
So much so that the council has issued a big long, rambling statement - trying to defend the 'indefensible'.
I was contacted earlier this week - by the local press - to respond to the council's comments.
Here's what I had to say:
“South Lanarkshire Council is clearly rattled that the truth is finally coming out. If the Council had nothing to hide, why did it fight tooth and nail to prevent the admission about its ‘indefensible bonus schemes’ being made public?
No other Council in Scotland has behaved in this secretive, furtive fashion. South Lanarkshire is alone in keeping its workforce in the dark about pay arrangements for traditional male jobs.
While these ‘indefensible bonuses’ were finally ended in 2002 they remain the basis on which traditional male jobs are paid today – meanwhile most women’s jobs are still stuck at the bottom of the pay ladder.
If South Lanarkshire employees win their case, they will be entitled to back-pay and sums of money they should have received years ago – just as many council employees have done in neighbouring Glasgow and North Lanarkshire.
People should also be aware that South Lanarkshire’s budget actually doubled in the ten years up to 2007 – a period when the Council was really just ‘crying wolf’ over the cost of ending blatant discrimination against its largely female workforce.”
