Foot And Mouth

A number of readers from South Lanarkshire have been in touch to voice their outrage at the  comments made to the Hamilton Advertiser - by the local unison branch secretary, Stephen Smellie.

See yesterday's post dated 30 June 2012 - 'Weasel Words' - in which the following quote is attributed to the local union rep:

“Not every one of these cases is going to win and I don’t want people to buy a new three-piece suite thinking they are going to be getting a big pay-out. Nobody actually knows whether a case will win or not.”

Now I can see what the readers are driving at - because Stephen has form in this area and has commented previously on people's shopping habits and how women should spend their money - on shoes and sofas it would seem.

Witness the following quote from the Hamilton Advertiser in May 2012 in which Unison is giving further helpful advice - in relation to the so-called 'living wage':

"Stephen Smellie, secretary of Unison’s South Lanarkshire Branch said the MSP was failing to note the hugely positive impact which the Living Wage had on the families who will gain from its introduction.

He explained: “It is primarily low-paid women who have benefited from the Living Wage. They will now be better able to buy a spare pair of shoes or a winter coat for their kids.

Now the sums of money involved in the council's 'living wage' policy are peanuts - compared to what's at stake over equal pay.

So I can identify with the readers who have contacted me to say that they find these Unison comments offensive and patronising - in the extreme.