NLC Update (23/02/16)

I forgot to mention in yesterday's update on North Lanarkshire that one of the most effective things that people can do to help isolate the leadership of the Council is to spread the word on social media via Twitter and Facebook, for example.

So the more people who 'Retweet', 'Like' and 'Share' these posts the more pressure North Lanarkshire will be under to come to its senses, as the Council's friends and allies in the local community disappear like snow off a dyke.

One of the key demands is for an independently-led, public inquiry to consider how one of Scotland's largest councils could have made such a dog's dinner of equal pay for all these years.

Beats me, but if this extraordinary and expensive debacle had taken in the private sector I think you could reasonably expect lots of heads to roll.

North Lanarkshire Update (22/02/16)

North Lanarkshire is heating up again as people start focus on all the issues to do with equal pay that are still outstanding after all these years.

So here's a few ideas of how people can join in and play their part in knocking some long overdue sense into this 'cockamamy' Labour-run council. 

Get Angry, Get Really Angry
By and large, the same Labour politicians and senior council officials have been making a dog's dinner of their pay arrangements for years. It's time for the workforce (and voters) to give these characters a very hard time.

Scotland's First Minister
Write directly to the First Minster, Nicola Sturgeon, quoting her words in the Scottish Parliament about the foot-dragging antics of local councils. More to follow on this subject.

NLC MSPs
Ask your local for support and help - I will publish their contact details on the blog site, but they should be more than willing to take a stand and speak up for their local constituents.

NLC Labour MSPs
Labour MSPs have a particular responsibility because this is a Labour-run council - put Labour's three Holyrood MSPs on the spot in the run-up to the Scottish Parliament elections.

Westminster MPs
In last year's general election Labour lost all of its Westminster MPs who have all been replaced by SNP MPs - I imagine they are only too happy to lend a hand by shining a light on the Labour-run council's behaviour.  

Alex Neil MSP
Alex Neil has been a firm supporter in the fight for equal pay for many years and has set an example for others to follow by holding local meetings and taking issues up with North Lanarkshire Council.

Pensions
Pensions and equal pay is about to become another big battlefield - a separate post will follow on the blog site too, but this is a highly topical and controversial issue on which NLC is again discriminating against its women workers.

Local Papers
Write a letter to your local paper highlighting your issues with NLC, e.g. that a School Clerical Assistant's job is not of 'equal value' to a council Refuse Collector in the eyes of Labour-run North Lanarkshire. 

Local meetings
Organise a local meeting for people in your own area and I'll be happy to come along to discuss some of these issues in more detail. 

Trade unions
If you are a member a trade union, ask some pointed questions about what the unions are doing to hold North Lanarkshire to account. The unions are affiliated to the Labour Party, but that shouldn't stop them from standing up to a Labour-run council.