North Lanarkshire

I've been exchanging emails with Michael McMahon MSP on the thorny subject of equal pay in North Lanarkshire and had a useful discussion with him on the phone the other day.

Now Michael's position appears to be that he supports his local constituents in their fight for equal pay and fair treatment, and Michael says he is willing to make representations to the Council on their behalf.

Which is a good thing if you ask me and a big improvement on the attitude of some other Labour politicians who have reportedly refused to meet with local constituents to discuss their concerns about equal pay. 

But as with anything else in life, the proof of the pudding lies in what people actually do - rather than what they say.

So I hope that more MSPs and MPs will get serious about because it's the biggest single issue around at the moment for the politicians to get stuck into the Council.

For example, by asking challenging questions about North Lanarkshire's pay arrangements, the incorrect grading of jobs, the assimilation of jobs on to the new pay structures and who is being held to account for this mess - and that's just for starters.

The best result would be for MSPs and MPs of all parties to do the right thing by establishing the facts and speaking their minds, loudly and publicly.

I think it's also fair to say that Michael has been critical of A4ES in the past, but I would say that it is now widely accepted that without Action 4 Equality Scotland equal pay would be dead in the water now - as it was back in 2005 when we first started to explain the big pay gaps between traditional male and female council jobs.

And, of course, the recent settlement of equal pay claims in South Lanarkshire Council (reported at £70+ million in the press) would never have happened without Action 4 Equality Scotland - because we were the people who led the fight from start to finish.


Contact details for Michael McMahon (Labour MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill)

Constituency Office:

Parliamentary Advice Office
188 Main Street
Bellshill
ML4 1AE

Email: Michael.McMahon.msp@scottish.parliament.uk

Telephone: 01698 304501

Hi Michael

Equal Pay and North Lanarkshire Council

Thanks for your quick response - seems to me that your second sense of disappointment only arises because of your first, in the sense that Action 4 Equality Scotland would have no reason to exist if the employers and trade unions had done what they said they would do back in 1999.

As you know, Action 4 Equality Scotland has led the campaign for equal pay in both North and South Lanarkshire, but if you are against pay discrimination as a matter of principle, then the origin of the claim makes no practical difference to the cost of settling these claims as far as the public purse is concerned, unless of course you believe that people (mainly low paid women workers) should not be properly compensated for their financial loss.

I have spoken to many thousands of equal pay claimants over the years, most of them A4ES clients, and they are a mixed bag of people as you would expect: trade union members and non-union members, supporters of various political parties including the SNP and Labour parties, although most I would say have no political allegiance one way or the other. 

But as a general rule people are not interested in name calling and would rather their politicians concentrated on the real issues to do with equal pay which, if you ask me, is all about establishing the facts and speaking the truth to those who have created the problem in the first place particularly if, as you say, you are bitterly disappointed at the way council employers have behaved. 

So, I think it would be useful to meet up or at least have a further discussion over the phone - I can ring you on Tuesday at your office, if that's convenient?

Kind regards

Mark