South Lanarkshire

A kind reader (a Unison steward) has sent me a document which I might have found offensive - were it not for the fact that it is so completely dumb and stupid - that I nearly fell off my chair laughing while reading its contents.

Now the document in question is a Stewards Briefing - from the South Lanarkshire Council Unison Branch - and is dated 26 August 2005 which means that its 8 year anniversary comes around on Monday.

What a coincidence, so I thought I'd share some of the content with A4ES clients and readers of the blog site starting next week - Monday 26 August 2013 - somehow that feels appropriate, as if the 'cosmic tumblers' are all falling into place.

I've no idea who wrote this drivel, by the way, but let's just say they won't be entering any 'Brain of Britain' or Mastermind competitions - anytime soon.

In my view, the trade unions in South Lanarkshire have completely discredited themselves with their craven behaviour over Equal Pay - and the Unison Stewards Briefing is a truly shocking example of the union acting as a cheerleader for the Council - instead of standing up for its lowest paid members.

You couldn't make it up, as they say, and I'm not - and here's the heading of the document which says:

EQUAL PAY CLAIMS - WHY SOUTH LANARKSHIRE IS DIFFERENT

The author of this statement intended it as a compliment clearly, but 8 years on - after the decision of the UK Supreme Court and the Glasgow Employment Tribunal which found the Council's job evaluation scheme to be 'unfit for purpose' - the words look simply ridiculous.

More to follow on Monday - that's when the fun really begins.