Name and Shame

I listened to Johann Lamont's speech to the Scottish Labour party conference in Inverness yesterday which was - I would say - a rather pedestrian, lacklustre affair albeit with one or two interesting moments.

The first point to jump out at me was that according to Johann - somewhere in Scotland - home care workers are being instructed 'not to speak with their clients' - lest this dastardly act means that they overrun their allotted time and - as a result - get into bother with their bosses.

Now I was outraged, wherever could such behaviour be taking place - in Glasgow, North Lanarkshire or South Lanarkshire, for example - or in one of Scotland's smaller  council areas?

Significantly, Johann didn't name any names - the home carers involved were anonymous which I can understand - but what about the councils delivering these vital support services, surely they should be named and shamed?

Johann continued with her admiration for home care workers and the work they do in local communities - which I agreed with because I've been campaigning for years to have the effort and skills of such workers recognised - and this is what the fight for equal pay in Scotland has been all about.

Yet I never noticed Johann commenting publicly on the scandal of pay discrimination in her own back yard - in Glasgow City Council - where for many years these hard working (predominantly female) home carers were paid much less than traditional male council jobs - refuse workers and street sweepers, for example.

Now I have nothing against refuse workers or street sweepers, but what always struck me as odd and very unfair was the fact that the relatively unskilled male jobs (refuse workers and gardeners etc) were earning half as much again (around £9.00 an hour or so) - compared to  around £6.00 an hour for various jobs done mainly by  women (carers, cooks, cleaners, clerical workers and classroom assistants).

So the belated support for home carers from Glasgow-based Scottish politicians sticks in my throat a bit - because they were nowhere to be seen when the fighting was fiercest - in fact they are nowhere to be seen now with major equal pay cases still underway against Labour controlled councils in Glasgow, North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire.

During Johann's speech I'm sure I saw the leader of Glasgow City Council - Gordon Matheson - amongst the audience nodding vigorously in support and once it was all over Johann was joined on stage by her husband - Archie Graham - a senior Glasgow councillor for years and currently the depute leader, if I recall correctly.

Which takes me back to the starting point of this particular post - because with contacts like that I have no doubt that Johann can explain which council or councils she had in mind - when she said that carer workers are being instructed not to talk to their clients.

So, to my mind Johann has a duty to name and shame - the council or councils involved.