Yes, First Minister

A kind reader has passed on a copy of the following letter about the fight for equal pay in Glasgow from a civil servant who is purportedly responding on behalf of the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon. 

Dear Ms C

Thank you for contacting the First Minister about equal pay for Glasgow City Council employees. I have been asked to reply.

Councils are independent of the Scottish Government and are responsible for meeting their legal obligations to their employees, including those on equal pay. Ministers therefore cannot force councils to settle equal pay claims. However, Ministers have repeatedly made clear that delays by councils in settling equal pay claims are completely unacceptable.

Audit Scotland published on 7 September an audit report on equal pay in Scottish councils that included setting out actions that councils should take. The report is on the Audit Scotland website at http://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/news/councils-yet-to-resolve-long- standing-issues-with-equal-pay. Ministers expect each council with outstanding claims to take note of this report and take urgent action.

As you may be aware, in May the Court of Session ruled in favour of the claimants in an equal pay case against Glasgow City Council described as affecting around 6,000 female workers. In response, the new Leader of the Council was reported as saying that the council would have open discussions with those workers and their representatives about how to give effect to that ruling.

In a second case, decided in August, the council is reported as having sought leave to appeal. However it is reported Council Leader Susan Aitken has now stated that any remaining legal proceedings are to provide clarity and will not be used to delay settlement of any outstanding claims. This statement was reinforced by the First Minister who said at the SNP conference on 10 October that equal pay will be delivered for women council workers in Glasgow. We understand the Council has already begun meeting Trade Unions. We hope the Council and Trade Unions will reach agreement and resolve all outstanding claims quickly.

I hope this reply is helpful. 

Yours sincerely 

Anthony Romain
Local Government Division and Analytical Services Division

Now there are so many things wrong with this letter from Anthony Romain that I hardly know where to begin, but let's make a start:

1. Action 4 Equality Scotland is by far the largest claimant organisation in Glasgow and represents over 80% of the equal pay claimants in the City Council
2. The Trade Unions were 'part of the problem' for many years and actually agreed to the introduction of the now discredited Glasgow WPBR pay scheme back in 2007
3. A4ES and Unison have worked together recently to challenge the WPBR in the Court of Session and are working jointly again now to resist the City Council's efforts to 'seek leave to appeal' the WPBR Decision to the UK Supreme Court.
4. The GMB union did not support the WPBR challenge in the Court of Session and is not part of the ongoing legal battle with the City Council's over its application to appeal the decision that Glasgow's WPBR is 'unfit for purpose'.
5. The same is true of the Unite trade union.
6. The GMB and Unite have zero credibility on the issue of equal pay because of their previous track record and because they represent the interests of the male dominated comparator jobs including Gardeners, Gravediggers and Refuse Workers.
7. So the GMB and Unite are trying to 'face both ways at the same time' in representing the interests of the female dominated claimant jobs: Carers, Cooks, Catering Workers, Cleaners, Clerical Staff, Classroom Assistants and so on. 
8. No meetings have taken place (with the Trade Unions or anyone else) to begin the process of finding a negotiated settlement to all of the outstanding equal pay claims.
9. No solution is possible without Action 4 Equality Scotland which has led the fight for equal pay in Glasgow for the past 12 years. 

I hope that clarifies the position for everyone, but if you ask me the civil servant's letter reads to me like something from an episode of 'Yes Minister' with its slapdash approach to the facts and current position on the ground.

So I think I'll set the record straight and send a copy of this blog post to Nicola Sturgeon, for information and future reference.