Glasgow - Musical Chairs
What does the fight for equal pay in Glasgow City Council have to do with the old party game of 'Musical Chairs?
Find out on the blog site this coming week when all shall be revealed - in the meantime here's your starter for 10, as they say on University Challenge.
Glasgow's Pay Arrangements (11/0817)
I submitted an FoI request to Glasgow City Council earlier this year asking for details on the comparative rates of pay for various traditional male jobs.
One of the jobs I asked about was that of Garage Engineer and back in 2007 this enjoyed a similar basic rate pay to that of a Home Carer, for example, of £6.92 - although the male job was also receiving a big bonus which the Council has still not disclosed.
I specifically asked the Council to provide pay information for 2007 and again in 2017 to see how things had changed over that 10 year period and this is what GCC had to say.
Garage Engineer (Pre-WPBR Grade - EO1, Post WPBR Grade - 5)
2007
Bonus Pay Bonus payments for employees in this post was variable from week to week.
Annual Salary £269.90 basic per week
Hourly Rate of Pay £6.92
2017
Bonus Pay No Bonus payments received.
Annual Salary Core Pay is £25,098.63
Hourly Rate of Pay £13.75
2007
Bonus Pay Bonus payments for employees in this post was variable from week to week.
Annual Salary £269.90 basic per week
Hourly Rate of Pay £6.92
2017
Bonus Pay No Bonus payments received.
Annual Salary Core Pay is £25,098.63
Hourly Rate of Pay £13.75
So over the course the past 10 years and as a result of the WPBR pay scheme the basic pay of this male dominated job has risen to £25,000 which is clearly much higher than the basic pay of a Home Carer, for example, or a similarly graded job done by women workers.
As readers can see for themselves, the hourly rate of pay for this male job has also increased dramatically, almost doubling from £6.92 to £13.75
Now if anyone can show me a comparative female job that has fared nearly so well under Glasgow's controversial WPBR scheme, I promise to jump into the River Clyde on the morning of New Year's Day 2018.
The big question for the City Council and for future settlement negotiations is: "How come this traditional male job (and many others like it) did so well out of the new WPBR pay arrangements - when their women colleagues fared so poorly?"
