Breaking Barriers
The A4ES blog site crashed through another big barrier the other day and has now recorded 1.5 million visitors.
Intriguingly this happened on the same day that North Lanarkshire Council finally agreed to face up to its obligations over equal pay.
Intriguingly this happened on the same day that North Lanarkshire Council finally agreed to face up to its obligations over equal pay.
Which is very appropriate, don't you think?
Red Letter Days (26 March 2014)
I came across this post from the blog site while looking for something else, but it's interesting to note that the first 500,000 visitors to the A4ES blog site took five years - whereas the next 500,000 took less than six months.
As of March 2014 the number of visitors to the blog site is 1.03 million - and counting.
Red Letter Day (27 March 2012)
Today is a Red Letter Day.
Because later today sometime the number of visitors to the blog site will crash through the 500,000 barrier.
Now I don't know if I'll still be writing the blog site long enough to reach another big milestone of let's say 1 million visitors.
But it has been a very interesting and rewarding experience, so far.
Because without Action 4 Equality Scotland I think it's fair to say that equal pay would still be dead in the water.
To my mind the all too cosy relationship between the council employers and the trade unions had managed to stifle and strangle the fight for equal pay to such an extent that nothing was happening.
Despite all kinds of promises the 1999 Single Status (Equal Pay) Agreement in Scotland had not been implemented - vital deadlines came and went without a fuss on either side.
The council employers and the trade unions just turned a blind eye to the big and ongoing pay gap - between traditional male and female jobs.
No one struck a blow in anger, threatened industrial action or forced the issue by taking legal action in the Employment Tribunals.
Until Action 4 Equality Scotland came along in 2005 that is - then things finally started to change.
To my mind the council employers and the trade unions should both be ashamed of their behaviour, not least because council budgets in Scotland doubled in size during the ten years up to 2007.
So the truth is that what really thwarted the 1999 Single Status (Equal Pay) Agreement in Scotland's councils was not a lack of money or resources.
But a lack of political will on the part of the council employers and the trade unions some of whom are still joined at the hip, politically speaking.
Because later today sometime the number of visitors to the blog site will crash through the 500,000 barrier.
Now I don't know if I'll still be writing the blog site long enough to reach another big milestone of let's say 1 million visitors.
But it has been a very interesting and rewarding experience, so far.
Because without Action 4 Equality Scotland I think it's fair to say that equal pay would still be dead in the water.
To my mind the all too cosy relationship between the council employers and the trade unions had managed to stifle and strangle the fight for equal pay to such an extent that nothing was happening.
Despite all kinds of promises the 1999 Single Status (Equal Pay) Agreement in Scotland had not been implemented - vital deadlines came and went without a fuss on either side.
The council employers and the trade unions just turned a blind eye to the big and ongoing pay gap - between traditional male and female jobs.
No one struck a blow in anger, threatened industrial action or forced the issue by taking legal action in the Employment Tribunals.
Until Action 4 Equality Scotland came along in 2005 that is - then things finally started to change.
To my mind the council employers and the trade unions should both be ashamed of their behaviour, not least because council budgets in Scotland doubled in size during the ten years up to 2007.
So the truth is that what really thwarted the 1999 Single Status (Equal Pay) Agreement in Scotland's councils was not a lack of money or resources.
But a lack of political will on the part of the council employers and the trade unions some of whom are still joined at the hip, politically speaking.
