Mark Irvine - Blogger, Campaigner, Organiser

Here is some information on the next round of local council elections in Scotland which are due to he held on Thursday 4th May 2017. As regular readers know, one of my campaign ideas is to stand an independent 'Equal Pay' candidate in the Glasgow Shettleston ward of the current council leader, Councillor Frank McAveety. The purpose of standing a candidate would be to remind local voters in the Council leader's backyard that Labour-run Glasgow has been dragging its feet over equal pay for years. Glasgow City Council is now the only remaining council in Scotland not to have reached a settlement over its post-job evaluation (JE) pay arrangements introduced in 2006/07.     http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/candidate-or-agent/local-council-elections-in-scotland-2017 Council elections in Scotland (2017) On this page, you will find guidance and resources that you need if you are a candidate or agent at council elections in Scotland held ...

I've had a number of queries from readers in North Lanarkshire regarding the job evaluation (JE) review which can be summarised as follows: 1 Why have the JE grades of school clerical workers not gone up since the equal pay settlement in 2015? 2 The advice from our union is that we have to start all over again on an individual basis 3 The union says things are complicated and that we members don't understand the details of the equal pay settlement? Well I don't think things are complicated at all and here's an explanation that should help people see the wood through the trees. The original equal pay settlement with North Lanarkshire Council covered the period up to 31 March 2015. The scores and grades awarded to three female dominated jobs (Home Support Worker, Playground Supervisor and School Crossing Patroller) were heavily criticised at the long-running Glasgow Employment Tribunal - as a result these three jobs were subject to...

The Russian Parliament (Duma) has passed a law watering down the country's domestic violence laws on the basis that 'the state interferes too much in family life'. According to Russian government statistics from the Interior Ministry, 40% of all violent crimes are committed within the family which equates to 36,000 women being beaten by their partners every day and 26,000 children being assaulted by their parents every year. Women's rights lawyer Mari Davtyan told The Moscow Times that the legislative moves are dangerous and "send a message that the state doesn’t consider familial battery fundamentally wrong anymore.” Sounds crazy, but there is a widespread 'macho' culture in Russia which reflects the ugly, twisted logic of the old Russian proverb: “If he beats you it means he loves you.” If you ask me, no one in an loving relationship should be resort to physical violence and anyone who says this is part of normal family life needs their head e...

A protester in Glasgow's George Square has a message for Donald Trump.     Trump's Achilles Heel (29/01/17) The map above and the countries coloured in red come under Donald Trump's new refugee ban. Below and also highlighted in red are countries where the new American President has either tried to do 'deals' or where Trump Enterprises has existing business interests. The notable 'absentee' from the banned list is Saudi Arabia which is one of the most repressive Islamic countries in the world with with a long track record of exporting Islamist terrorists - including those behind 9/11.  Since the President's announcement is not linked to any security threat and his new policy makes no sense.      Trump's Achilles Heel ((19/01/17) I said in a recent Twitter post that Donald Trump's business interests could prove to be his Achilles heel because the President-elect seems unwilling to divest himself of ...