Glasgow and Equal Pay
I've yet to see any election material from the Labour Party in Glasgow, but the SNP manifesto contains a number of commitments on equal pay and good governance of the City Council which are interesting and potentially significant.
In terms of equal pay their manifesto commits the SNP to:
- ensuring that the Public Sector Equality Duty is fully adhered to in all of the Council’s dealings with our employees.
- working with trade unions and others representing women who were victims of discriminatory pay policies with the aim of resolving and settling all outstanding equal pay claims within this Council term.
As far as good governance of the City Council is concerned the SNP says it will:
- Appoint an independent expert, who will command the confidence of Council staff and the public, to carry out a root and branch review of the Council’s governance, without fear or favour. They will be asked to closely examine how decisions have been made, public money spent and business conducted in the past, and make recommendations to ensure that the future governance of Glasgow is of the highest standard.
- Redesign the Council’s democratic structures and standing orders to ensure that decisions are subject to genuine scrutiny and debate, and are communicated transparently to the public.
- Improve reporting of the Council’s achievements and progress in delivering our pledges, meeting targets and fulfilling statutory duties, with more honesty about difficulties and challenges.
- Extend the broadcast and recording of key Council meetings and committees. We will strengthen and enhance the role and remit of the Petitions Committee and develop new ways for the public to influence decision-making.
- Review the Council’s departmental and senior officer structures to break down silos and focus on the delivery of strategic outcomes for people and communities. The SNP believes community planning and community empowerment should not sit in a separate department, but be part and parcel of the way the Council carries out every part of its work. We will also conduct a review of all ALEOs, with an option to abolish or reform those which are not effectively contributing to outcomes for people, and enhance democratic scrutiny of those that remain.
If you ask me, neighbouring councils in North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire (both Labour-run for donkeys' years) could also do with an independent review of their handling of issues such as equal pay - because they have been getting away with murder for years.
But have a read at the SNP's full manifesto for Glasgow and decide for yourself - if I come across election information from the Labour Party I'll share this on the blog site as well, but I'm not holding my breath.
But have a read at the SNP's full manifesto for Glasgow and decide for yourself - if I come across election information from the Labour Party I'll share this on the blog site as well, but I'm not holding my breath.
