Glasgow City Council Update

As I said in a previous post, I wrote to all of Glasgow's constituency MSPs before the Scottish Parliament stood down and the latest round of elections got underway.

A copy of my letter is reproduced below for information and easy reference along with an email contact address for every SNP candidates who is contesting a Glasgow seat on 5th May 2016.

I have put Hamza Yousaf's name at the top of the list because Humza is the only SNP figure who replied to my original email in a very positive way, before standing down to fight the Glasgow Pollok seat.

But all of the readers still fighting for equal pay in Glasgow can lend a hand by raising the issue with the party candidates, either by email or in person at local meeting and hustings.

In other words don't be shy about putting across your point of view and pushing the candidates to explain where they stand on the issue.

I will try to find the same contact information for Labour Party candidates in Glasgow and post these details on the blog site as well.




Humza Yousaf - Glasgow Pollok

Email: humzaforpollok@gmail.com


Bill Kidd - Glasgow Anniesland

Email: bill.kidd@annieslandsnp.scot


James Dornan - Glasgow Cathcart

Email: jamesdornan.snp@gmail.com



Sandra White - Glasgow Kelvin

Email: sandrawhite4kelvin@gmail.com


Bob Doris - Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn

Email: campaign@bob-doris.scot


Ivan McKee- Glasgow Provan

Email: ivan4provan@gmail.com


John Mason - Glasgow Shettleston

Email: jmasonscot@aol.com


Nicola Sturgeon - Glasgow Southside 

Email:nicola.sturgeon@snp.org 

Dear MSP

Glasgow and Equal Pay

I circulated all Glasgow MSPs yesterday (Monday) with the latest post from my blog site regarding the long-running fight for equal pay in Glasgow City Council.

I am conscious that all existing Glasgow MSPs will be standing down later this week and that many, if not all, of you will be contesting the forthcoming Scottish Parliament elections.

If you are standing as a candidate in the Holyrood elections and would like to make your views known regarding the equal pay position in Glasgow, please drop me a note as I am certain that the thousands of Glasgow-based readers of the blog site will be interested in what their candidate MSPs have to say. 

I can contacted at the following email address - markirvine@compuserve.com - and I am happy to keep candidates in Scottish Parliament elections briefed on further developments in the run up to 5 May 2016.

My blog site can be found at:www.action4equalityscotland.blogspot.com

Kind regards

Mark Irvine

Glasgow Update (25/03/16)

I wrote the other day about my letter to all Glasgow MSPs regarding the fight for which was sent before the dissolution of the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday.

I had a quick response from John Mason MSP which I found very disappointing, I have to say, because John's initial response was to raise concerns about how the Council would meet its equal pay obligations rather than looking at things from the point of view of his constituents who have been getting short-changed for many years.

So I replied to John by pointing out that Glasgow City Council has been aware of the position for years, that additional borrowing has been made available by the Scottish Government and that the rights of low paid women to equal pay cannot be set aside because of the Council's mismanagement of its pay arrangements over the years.

Now the SNP leader of the opposition group in Glasgow, Cllr Susan Aitken, had the right attitude if you ask me, so let's hope that all of Glasgow's SNP politicians are singing from the same hymn sheet soon.

Particularly as Humza Yousaf, another SNP MSP in Glasgow, responded by congratulating me for 'continuing this important fight'. 

John Mason MSP

-----Original Message-----

From: Mason J (John), MSP 
To: markirvine 
Sent: Tue, Mar 22, 2016 9:48 am
Subject: RE: Glasgow and Equal Pay

Thanks Mark

Today’s Herald suggested that Glasgow might have to pay out £100 million because of this.  However, I am not sure Glasgow has that kind of money lying around.  Would they have to close schools and leisure centres, reduce waste collection, or sack staff?

Regards

John

-----Original Message-----
From: markirvine
To: John.Mason.msp
Sent: Tue, Mar 22, 2016 9:56 am
Subject: Re: Glasgow and Equal Pay

Dear John

No, because the Council has been aware of this ongoing legal case for several years and have been planning for just such a contingency, as you would expect.

Not only that the Scottish Government has previously offered to increase council 'borrowing consents' to assist Scottish councils meet their obligations in respect of equal pay.

And at the end of the day, the rights of low paid women workers to equal pay cannot be set aside or qualified because of the Council's mismanagement over the years, as I'm sure you would agree.

Kind regards



Mark Irvine


Humza Yousaf MSP

-----Original Message-----
From: Yousaf H (Humza), MSP
To: markirvine
Sent: Tue, Mar 22, 2016 11:58 am
Subject: RE: Glasgow and Equal Pay

Dear Mark,

Many thanks for this very helpful update and well done to you and campaigners for continuing this important fight.

Best wishes,

Humza

Humza Yousaf MSP

MSP for Glasgow

Minister for Europe and International Development

I wrote to all Glasgow MSPs with news about the long-awaited Employment Appeal Tribunal decision and its implications for City Council employees.

I've already had a number of responses which I'll share on the blog site in the next day or so.

But even though the current batch of Glasgow MSPs is standing down there is, of course, nothing to stop those seeking re-election from making clear where they stand on this issue.

So if you ask me, the Glasgow candidates should all be put on the spot to explain their views in the run-up to the Scottish Parliament elections which are due to take place on Thursday 5th May 2016.

The most helpful comment I've seen, so far, came from the SNP leader of the opposition in Glasgow, Cllr Susan Aitken, who told The Herald that the Council should "come clean" about its responsibilities and settle the claims.

Councillor Aitken went on to add:

"The Council should have sought to do the right thing by these women when it emerged that the original claims may not have been adequately settled.

"Instead it may well have opened itself up to increased liability at a time when public finances are already under enormous pressure."

Well said, if you ask me.