Glasgow and Equal Pay
A group of Home Carers from the south side of Glasgow have been in touch to say they had a very good meeting with their local MSP yesterday - James Dornan, the member for Glasgow Cathcart.
The Home Carers came away very buoyed-up after their discussion with their MSP who has agreed to lend his weight to the fight for equal pay with Glasgow City Council in the weeks ahead.
So let's hope that other Glasgow politicians follow James Dornan's lead and that more and more equal pay claimants contact their local MSPs and MPs for support in the run-up to the local elections on 4th May 2017.
Glasgow MSPs and MPs (21/03/17)
I tweeted a copy of yesterday's post about the fight for equal pay with Labour-run Glasgow City Council to all Glasgow MSPs and MPs - 15 in total all of whom support the SNP.
In my tweet I asked the following question:
"How is it possible that Glasgow's Home Carers are worth thousands of pounds a year less than a Council Gravedigger?"
So let's see what Glasgow's politicians have to say in support of their constituents because a quick look at their Twitter feed shows that that have plenty to say on lots of other important subjects.
In which case getting behind the fight for equal pay in Glasgow ought to be a real 'doddle'.
Glasgow MSPs and MPs (10/02/17)
I've had lots of emails from readers in Glasgow asking how they can help to hold the City Council to account in the fight for equal pay.
Well one of the most effective things people can do is to contact their local MSP or MP and ask for their support.
I wrote to all Glasgow MSPs and MPs just the other day, so they are bang up to date with all the latest developments and Glasgow's local politicians have plenty to say at the moment.
For example, on the Council Tax and local council budgets, to the closure of job centres or the impact of a higher retirement age for women (also known as the WASPI campaign).
So the fight for equal pay which affects thousands of low paid women across Glasgow ought to be right up their street and I think it would be perfectly reasonable to ask local MSPs and MPs:
- What are MSPs and MPs doing and saying publicly to support their local constituents in the fight for equal pay with Glasgow City Council?
- Do MSPs and MPs support the demand that Glasgow City Council ought to 'open the books' and explain the pay arrangements that were put in place following the WPBR in 2006/07?
More to follow soon, but in the meantime here's a handy list of names and email addresses.
Keep me posted and I'll share what people have to say on the blog site (without mentioning any personal details, of course).
Remember, many hands make light work - so go to it, get your arse in gear Glasgow!
Glasgow MSPs (Scottish Parliament)
Glasgow MPs (Westminster Parliament)
Glasgow's Home Carers (20/03/17)
All of the usual topics were covered including:
- the importance of claimants contacting their MSPs and MPs for support
- the use of freedom of information (FoI) requests to uncover the City Council's post-WPBR pay arrangements
- the forthcoming appeal hearing at the Court of Session in Edinburgh on 25 to 27 April and 2 to 5 May 2017
- the level of bonus payments in male dominated jobs and the guarantee given by the City Council that these earnings would be maintained (in response to a strike threat by the trade unions)
The pay information has been provided to me in response to an FoI request and shows the earnings of the Gravedigger as £22,845.40 (excluding overtime) in 2007 - £11,986 in basic salary and £10,859.40 in 'additional payments' the bulk of which I suspect had to be earned via bonus payments.
Now take nothing away from the council Gravedigger because they work hard and do an essential jobs like lots of other council staff, but how can it be that Home Carers (on the much higher grade of MW5) are not worth at least the same pay?
Shift working can't account for the pay difference because Home Carers in Glasgow typically work a 'split shift' which means they work for 5 hours (8am to 1pm) and have an unpaid break for three hours before returning to complete another 5 hour shift later in the day (4pm to 10pm).
Split shift working is the most onerous of all shift stems if you ask me, because unlike other workers the whole day revolves around your job and people are not really done with their work until late in the evening.
Yet for this huge inconvenience to their lives Home Carers are worth thousands of pounds less than a council Gravedigger which sounds very unfair to me.
Another meeting in Govanhill is planned for next Monday and some of the local politicians will be present which is good news if you ask me, because so far I haven't witnessed too many Glasgow MSPs and MPs speaking out in support of the fight for equal pay with the Labour-led City Council.
