Glasgow - Equal Pay Update
Here's a letter I've just sent by email to the Leader of Glasgow City Council, Cllr Susan Aitken.
Now it's an 'open secret' that many of Glasgow's senior officials and advisers would prefer to keep this battle going through the courts because they are responsible for the mess the City Council finds itself in today.
So 'kicking the can' down the road a bit further to the UK Supreme Court means that they don't have to answer for their actions, as they are likely to have retired or moved on to other lucrative jobs.
The email address I have for Susan Aitken is - susan.aitken@glasgow.gov.uk - and I think it would be very useful if readers dropped the Leader a note to say that its high time that the Council's senior officials got their finger out.
Dear Councillor Aitken
Glasgow and Equal Pay
I understand that the long-awaited meeting with Glasgow City Council has still not been arranged despite the claimant organisations offering no less than five separate dates across three different weeks.
Senior council officials had these proposed dates for more than a week, i.e. since 23 October 2017, but waited until yesterday (Monday 30th) before announcing that there were unspecified problems on the City Council's side.
I have no idea what these 'problems' are though I think it is entirely reasonable to expect the City Council to give a much higher priority to these settlement discussions than they have received up until now.
I should also point out that senior officials have failed, yet again, to provide the pay data that was promised to the claimant organisations throughout September and October which makes it rather difficult to believe there is not a deliberate policy of obstruction at work, in some parts of the council at least.
I hope you will use your position as Leader of the Council to break the present logjam because I think it is fair to say that the claimants are fed up to the back teeth with this total lack of urgency and respect.
Kind regards
Mark Irvine
Glasgow - Equal Pay Update (30/10/17)
In recent days I've reported that long awaited equal pay settlement discussions with Glasgow City Council are about to get underway.
A4ES along with the other claimant organisations were asked to provide dates for an initial meeting to take place, which was done quickly as you would expect, and the following list of dates was given to the City Council on Monday 23 October 2017.
- 30 October 2017
- 31 October 2017
- 9 November 2017
- 13 November 2017
- 16 November 2017
So what are senior council officials playing at - are they taking things seriously or just fooling around?
Because the first date has already come and gone while the second (tomorrow) has no chance of going ahead at such short notice.
Whatever's going on this is no way to carry on if you ask me - it's rude and disrespectful to the claimants and if council officials feel able to behave in this manner before serious talks get underway, what are they going to be like when it comes to dealing with the big issues.
So I'm going to email the City Council leader Susan Aitken because Glasgow needs to get its act together and its officials need to start treating the claimants with some respect:susan.aitken@glasgow.gov.uk
Breaking News! (29/10/17)
Important information has come my way about the long awaited Equal Pay settlement process with Glasgow City Council.
Tune in again tomorrow (Monday) because there will be a need for the equal pay claimants in Glasgow to make their voices heard with the powers that be.
Glasgow MSPs and MPs (27/10/17)
I Tweeted my recent post on 'Glasgow, Job Evaluation and Equal Pay' to all MSPs and MPs with constituencies in the Glasgow area, along with the following message:
"If Job Evaluation was a fair and objective in Glasgow City Council, how come all the low paid women's jobs landed on a Snake?"
So far, not a single MSP or MP has responded to my Tweet or asked for further information - nor has anyone Liked or Retweeted my post to their followers.
Now this could mean that my Tweet and blog post were just so perfect that there's nothing more to say, but it could also mean that Glasgow's MSPs and MPs are strangely disengaged from the fight for equal pay in their own back yard.
I'm surprised, I have to say, because while it seems pretty clear to me that the SNP MSPs and MPs all support the position being adopted by the SNP-led council we are not out of the woods yet - not by a long chalk.
For example, Glasgow's position is that the City Council is 'seeking leave to appeal' only and that its real intention is to negotiate a settlement of all the outstanding equal pay claims.
In other words, that a 'full blown' appeal to the UK Supreme Court is not going to happen, perhaps for political reasons as well as the practical difficulties of overturning the unanimous judgment of the Court of Session, Scotland's highest civil court.
But if the City Council's decision to 'seek leave to appeal' is based on the advice of senior council officials and external lawyers, what is going to happen when Glasgow reaches the point of deciding whether to take its case to the UK Supreme Court - with or without 'leave' from Scotland's Court of Session?
Now that's something I would expect Glasgow's MSPs and MPs to have an opinion on, especially as they have strong opinions on just about everything else.
So I'm going to publish on the blog site some of what Glasgow's politicians have to say on their Twitter feed because the next couple of months are going to be crucial.
If you ask me, this is an issue on which the thousands of equal pay claimants across the city deserve the vocal support of their MSPs and MPs.
If you ask me, this is an issue on which the thousands of equal pay claimants across the city deserve the vocal support of their MSPs and MPs.
Glasgow MSPs and MPs (28/10/17)
I wrote yesterday about the importance of the next couple of months in the fight for equal pay in Glasgow City Council because we ought to know two things well before Christmas:
- Is a proper settlement process finally underway and is there a clear timetable and road map in place for resolving all the outstanding equal pay claims?
- Has Glasgow City Council abandoned the idea of pursuing an appeal to the UK Supreme Court?
Now if you ask me, Glasgow MSPs and MPs should be getting right behind their local constituents on these issues which means speaking up sharing their views.
For example in the local Glasgow press, on social media and their own Facebook pages or Twitter accounts.
No one is asking or expecting MSPs and MPs to attack the City Council, not least because its leaders say they are full committed to a negotiated settlement.
But there are clearly forces at work who would love to continue the long-running legal battle in the courts and to the UK Supreme Court, if they had their way.
So it's potentially crucial that Glasgow's MSPs and MPs speak up and explain where they stand - and here's a handy list of their contact email addresses.
If I hear from any MSPs and MPs directly, I'll share what they have to say on the blog site.
Glasgow's MSPs and MPs (08/09/17)
If you ask me, Glasgow MSPs and MPs have not been very vocal or visible in standing up for the rights of their local constituents in the fight for equal pay over the past 10 years, but let's hope things are about to change for the better.
So here is a list of the MSPs and MPs whose constituencies lie within the boundaries of Glasgow City Council - engaging with local politicians and asking them where they stand will help to bring the fight for equal pay to a speedy and successful conclusion.
Here's a handy link names all of the various Glasgow constituencies for easy reference: https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=17759
I contacted all of these MSPs and MPs yesterday, so they are all up to speed on the latest developments and since the local elections in May 2017 Labour has, of course, lost political control of Glasgow City Council to the SNP.
The MSPs are all the same, but there are two changes in the MP list with David Linden replacing Natalie McGarry in Glasgow East and Paul Sweeney replacing Anne McLaughlin in Glasgow North East.
Contact details for Glasgow councillors can be found via the following link to the City Council's web site: https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=17565
Glasgow MSPs (Scottish Parliament)
Glasgow MPs (Westminster Parliament)
David.Linden.mp@parliament.uk
Paul.Sweeney.mp@parliament.uk
Carol.Monaghan.mp@parliament.uk
