**STOP PRESS** (16/06/16)
A kind reader has sent me the following statement which appeared on the Facebook page of the Unison North Lanarkshire Branch earlier today, apparently.
"Last week the outcome of some job re-evaluations related to equal pay was approved by the council. The jobs that were re-evaluated were identified by the unions and solicitors involved the equal pay case and the re-evaluation was part of the legal settlement. The posts were home support worker, school crossing patroller, playground supervisor, road sweeper, two grades of gardener and chargehand gardener.
"UNISON is currently in negotiations with council about re-evaluating the other posts that were part of the equal pay litigation.
"Members whose posts were not part of the equal pay case, and think their job is graded wrongly, are able to apply for re-grading through existing procedures. If you want to submit a re-grading claim, speak to your line manager in the first instance and then contact the branch office for further advice."
Now putting aside the fact that union members and the wider workforce are still awaiting details on what exactly has been agreed (without balloting the members), what jumps out at me is the fact that individual members are being expected to do all the 'heavy lifting'.
Reminds me of the old saying, "Why have a dog and bark yourself?"
Because surely it's the job of the trade unions to be leading from the front and raising these issues on behalf their members, as opposed to telling people DIY-style to fend for themselves.
DIY and Equal Pay (02/03/14)
A typical comment is that their union is not interested and tells people they should have registered an equal pay claim - that this was their individual responsibility not the union's acting collectively.
Now this is a very odd stance to take if you have ask me, because when trade unions try to sign up new members they make a positive case about of the benefits of union membership and actively persuade people to join.
In other words it's not a spectator sport, so where did this DIY approach to equal pay come from all of a sudden?
And if you think about it for a minute it's a completely barmy attitude for a collective body like a trade union to take - because unions don't behave this way when it comes to strike ballots for example.
In a strike ballot every single trade union member is issued with a ballot paper and is encouraged to support whatever dispute is underway - in practice the members' views count and the union is keen to secure their backing, so they pull out the stops even though the law law lays down certain rules as well.
Likewise when it comes to the Political Fund and union efforts to encourage their members to support the Labour Party, a topical issue at the moment, but again the unions get in there and get their hands dirty - they don't sit on the sidelines.
So how is it possible to say, with a straight face at least, that when it comes to equal pay the members are (or were) all on their own?
If you ask me, that sounds terribly odd, inconsistent and unfair.
