North Lanarkshire Update
So what can the long-suffering GMB members in North Lanarkshire do about the appalling way they are being treated by their own trade union?
Well here are some ideas that people may wish to consider.
New GMB General Secretary
The GMB has a new boss, a new general secretary-elect - a chap called Tim Roache who is due to replace my old chum Sir Paul Kenny. I haven't had any dealings with Tim myself, but the buck stops with him now and he deserves to be put on the spot by the GMB members who have been so badly served by their union in North Lanarkshire. Contact Tim by email at: tim.roache@gmb.org.uk
Labour MSPs (there are no Labour MPs left)
Labour MSPs in Lanarkshire have been notoriously bad at standing up to their local Labour-run councils, but there are three constituency MSPs in North Lanarkshire who are all up for election in May 2016:
Elaine Smith: Elaine.Smith.msp@scottish.parliament.uk
John Pentland: John.Pentland.msp@scottish.parliament.uk
Michael McMahon: Michael.McMahon.msp@scottish.parliament.uk
Elaine is a self-styled feminist and socialist, John is a former councillor with North Lanarkshire Council and Michael is a member of the GMB, so you would think they would pull out all the stops to help their local constituents.
SNP MSPs and MPs
Alex Neil has been actively campaigning in support of equal pay claimants in North and South Lanarkshire for years and organised a meeting for GMB members in November 2015. Perhaps it's time to hold another gathering and invite GMB officials to attend and explain themselves.
Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC)
The SLCC is the independent regulator for solicitors in Scotland; no equivalent body exists for trade unions, sadly. But GMB members, as far as I know, have not been given a proper explanation as to why their equally claims were restricted to only three years and who was responsible formatting such a dumb decision. A complaint to the SLCC would potentially help flush out what happened and that's something individual members may wish to consider as a way of getting to the truth.
