Arm's Length Glasgow
The issues are the same now as they were three years ago.
The real reason that Glasgow City Council set up these various arm's length companies - was to try and escape their obligations on equal pay - everything else is just a smokescreen.
By creating an artificial set of 'Chinese walls' - between different groups of male and female council workers - the council hopes to win the argument that they are separate, completely unrelated and independent employers.
In which case the employees in these different arm's length companies - should not be able to compare their pay and conditions - for equal pay purposes.
Even though Glasgow City Council directly controls and funds all of the arm's length bodies - such as Cordia.
What a way for a Labour council - a Labour council - to behave, don't you think.
I wonder if Neil Kinnock - the former Labour leader would share my view?
Since he used very similar words and sentiments - in a famous speech to a Labour party conference in 1985 - to describe the behaviour of Liverpool City Council.
Maybe I'll drop him a note.
Glasgow Betrays Carers, Cleaners and Catering Staff
Glasgow City Council has just announced that it plans to transfer its home carers, cleaners and catering staff to a new arms length company.
The council claims that this is to protect essential services - but the truth is that the move is really designed to avoid the council having to meet its obligations on equal pay.
The existing pay and conditions of the largely female workforce will be maintained because of the TUPE regulations - but the transfer will isolate the women from the better paid men - with only the men remaining directly employed by the city council.
If that happens, the women workers may no longer be able to compare their lower earnings with the higher earnings of male jobs such as gardeners and refuse workers - because the council will have placed an artificial wall between the two groups.
The council is then likely to argue that the women workers have no entitlement to back pay, worth over £10,000 per person for a full time worker. Neither the council nor the unions are advising their members of these rights.
So, the move to an arm's length company has nothing to do with quality or service standards - and everything to do with avoiding equal pay.
The unions - who have traditionally negotiated better deals for the male groups - will wring their hands and complain. But the truth is that the trade unions have been doing the council's dirty work all along - by failing to fight for equal treatment for their women members.
In fact, the unions privately will be pleased - because it gets them off a hook.
In future, the unions will say their male members are better paid than their women members because they work for different employers - not because of the discriminatory deals negotiated by the unions in the past.
Predictable as ever, the unions' defence will be: 'a big boy did it and ran away' - allowing them to wash their hands of the whole affair and abandon their members, yet again.
What should Glasgow workers do before the great transfer to 'Carers R Us' goes ahead?
Well the sensible thing to do is to avoid get what you're entitled to while you can - by registering an equal pay claim. If you leave it until after the transfer goes ahead, the council may be able to argue that your claim is out of time, which would be a great shame.
It's not too late - even if you've already accepted a previous settlement from the council, you still have an ongoing claim.
So, don't get mad - or don't just get mad - protect your interests by registering a claim.
