NLC Update (18/05/15)

I am getting lots of enquiries from union members who have been left out of the recent equal pay settlement with North Lanarkshire Council (NLC).

Some of the people involved say they had a 1st wave settlement with a trade union, but no 2nd wave claim has been taken forward for reasons which are unexplained, as yet anyway.

Now I find this all very peculiar because trade unions don't behave like this when they are pursuing an annual pay claim, for example, and members don't need to 'opt in' to benefit from any subsequent pay increase that comes along. 

The same is true of a strike ballot or a trade union Political Fund Ballot; everyone is involved and no one gets left behind.

So why should equal pay be treated any differently?

Well the answer is I don't know, but if I were a union member in this position I'd write to the regional secretary in Scotland or the general secretary in London and ask why.  

Because people have been paying their union dues all this time and if you ask me, they deserve a better service than being told effectively to 'go take a hike'. 

Another port of call are the local MSPs and MPs covering the North Lanarkshire area who may well be willing to take the issue up on behalf of their constituents.

In my view, this all bolsters the argument that trade unions should be properly regulated in  the same way other areas of industry are held to account: the energy industry, the press and media, and even property management all have independent watchdogs to whom the public can complain about a poor service.

As are all the major professions in the UK: legal, teaching and nursing to name just a few.

So why should the trade unions be accountable only to themselves?   

The other thing to do is to start a Facebook campaign which will allow people who are in this position to speak to each other, share information and coordinate what they're doing.

I'm happy to lend a hand via the blog site as well.