Calling Glasgow
I've said many times on the blog site that the fight for equal pay is not a 'spectator sport'.
And this is another gentle reminder to readers in Glasgow to help build up a network of local campaigners by following me on Twitter
Retweeting and sharing posts will also help in getting a strong campaign message across to Glasgow City Council in 2017.
If you ask me, the Council's foot-dragging behaviour has gone on long enough and Glasgow is now the only major council in Scotland not to have reached a settlement over its post-job evaluation pay arrangements.
So if the current leadership is unable or unwilling to face up to its responsibilities over equal pay, then it's time they made way for people who are prepared to end this saga.
Glasgow and Equal Pay (05/12/16)
I sent the following email to all MSPs and MPs with seats in the Glasgow City Council area earlier today including Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland's First Minister.
As I've said on the blog site before Glasgow is now the only major council is Scotland not to have reached a satisfactory agreement over its post-job evaluation pay arrangements.
Neighbouring North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire Councils did so recently and thousands of A4ES clients played a big part in persuading these two councils to come to their senses.
So let's hope that Glasgow's MSPs and MPs get behind their local constituents in the fight for equal pay in 2017.
Dear MSP/MP
Glasgow and Equal Pay
I enclose three recent posts from my blog site regarding the fight for equal pay in Glasgow City Council.
If there is no sign of a negotiated settlement by the New Year, I suspect that many of the 5,500 A4ES clients in Glasgow will be seeking to make equal pay a major issue in the run-up to the local council elections in May 2017.
Kind regards
Mark Irvine
Calling Glasgow (02/12/16)
The blog site has seen a lot of traffic following yesterday's about Glasgow, but what I need to do in the weeks ahead is build a network of active supporters who are willing to spread the word on Facebook and Twitter.
Because the more people who Like, Share, Retweet and Follow my posts via Twitter and Facebook the stronger the message will be to Glasgow City Council.
If the current leadership of the Council are not part of the solution, then they are part of the problem if you ask me.
Glasgow is the only council in Scotland which has refused to reached agreement over their post-JE pay arrangements - in Glasgow's case this is known as the WPBR (Workforce Pay and Benefits Review).
So if Glasgow's leaders are not prepared to face up to their obligations on equal pay, they should stand aside and make way for politicians who are prepared to do so.
Calling Glasgow (01/12/16)
Glasgow City Council looks set to become the next big battleground in the long fight for equal pay as we approach the end of 2016.
As readers know, ever since the Employment Appeal Tribunal found in the claimants' favour (back in March) efforts have been made behind the scenes to establish whether GCC is prepared to resolve all the outstanding claims via a negotiated settlement.
In my view, this now looks increasingly unlikely and I suspect that the claimants are all just being 'strung along' in the hope of getting past next year's local council elections (due in May 2017) without too much argy bargy.
So I'm making an early New Year resolution to start the engines of a new A4ES campaign in January 2017, if there are still no signs of serious negotiations getting underway next month.
The task I'll be setting myself is to make equal pay and Glasgow City Council's foot-dragging behaviour a major issue in the run-up to the May 2017 local elections.
Now I can't do this on my own, but A4ES has over 5,500 in Glasgow and I'll be aiming to stir people into action and create a network of local campaigners who are willing to turn the heat up on the Council in the early months of the New Year.
Because if the present leadership of Glasgow City Council is not part of the solution, then it's part of the problem if you ask me.
I'll be writing much more on the blog site in the days ahead, but at the moment readers in Glasgow can help by Liking, Sharing and Retweeting this message on Facebook and Twitter.
Always remember that 'many hands make light work'.
Glasgow City Council Update
I said on the blog site recently that the fight for equal pay in Glasgow had gone quiet because the focus of events had shifted to the Court of Session in Edinburgh.
The Court of Session (Scotland's highest civil court)) will hear an appeal from Glasgow City Council against the decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (reported previously on the blog site) which was favourable to the claimants.
A4ES has also made a 'cross appeal' to protect the interests of its 5,000 clients in Glasgow which has the potential to bring down the so-called 'Workforce Pay and Benefits Review' - Glasgow City Council's local job evaluation (JE) scheme.
The Court of Session has now listed the Glasgow Appeal for April/May 2017 which is great timing if you ask me, because this means that the case will be heard in the run-up to next year's local council elections.
Now I have said previously on the blog site that a negotiated settlement in Glasgow is in everyone's, but so far at least the City Council seems intent on a 'fight to the death' through the courts.
If you ask me this is a foolish strategy, because the original decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (in favour of the claimants) is sound and will be difficult to overturn at the Court of Session.
So if there is no progress to report by the end of 2016, I think it's fair to say that the City Council can expect fireworks in the New Year.
Because I will make it my business to ensure that equal pay becomes a major issue in the period leading up to the May 2017 council elections.
