Glasgow's WPBR - A Horse Designed By A Committee
I've been campaigning and writing about Glasgow City Council's 'unfit for purpose' WPBR pay scheme for a very long time and to prove my point here's a post from the blog site archive dated April 2008.
And you know what, looking back at this post after ten years I wouldn't change a word - except to add that it feels great to have the 'backing' of the Court of Session, Scotland's highest civil court, in describing the WPBR as a horse designed by a committee.
Glasgow - Pay and Grading Structure (09/04/08)
Glasgow's new pay and grading structure (introduced in a mad rush in the winter of 2006) is now coming in for some intense scrutiny.
And what a strange creature it is too - like a horse designed by committee - the outcome is more 'camel' than noble steed.
Glasgow - unique among Scotland's councils - has invented a distinction between Core versus Non Core pay. No one had heard of this term before and no one is able to explain what it really means - because no one knows who is responsible for designing the new pay and grading structure.
Anyway, we can reveal that Core Pay has to do with the skills and responsibilities of people's jobs (allegedly) - whereas Non Core Pay has to do with when these hours are worked over the course of the working week, month or year.
More news will follow about Core Pay soon - but to focus on Non Core Pay for the moment - it is indeed a weird and wonderful thing. Remember, the only reason for a new pay structure was tackle widespread pay discrimination - especially against female dominated jobs.
But lo and behold - to qualify for Non Core pay Glasgow employees have to work full-time hours i.e. 37 hours per week - whereas, as everyone knows, thousands of women work part-time hours - and are automatically excluded from the outset.
People working full-time hours get 7 points under the Non Core pay formula - which is worth £800 a year - but worth nothing if you're a part-time worker. As everyone knows, the vast majority of part-time workers are women.
People working 'task and finish' (Task Completion) jobs get awarded another 7 points under the Non Core pay formula - worth another 7 points - but as everyone knows the only people working 'task and finish' are traditional male jobs (refuse collection and suchlike).
No female jobs enjoy these conditions - the women always have to work to the end of their normal working day - and lose out again.
A full-time male worker doing a 'task and finish' job gets 14 points - and an extra £1280 a year - regardless of their job. Whilst a part-time female worker doing a full shift every day - gets absolutely nothing - no matter what job she does.
Sound familiar? Sound like the rules have been made up to suit the traditional male jobs?
We think so too.
And what a strange creature it is too - like a horse designed by committee - the outcome is more 'camel' than noble steed.
Glasgow - unique among Scotland's councils - has invented a distinction between Core versus Non Core pay. No one had heard of this term before and no one is able to explain what it really means - because no one knows who is responsible for designing the new pay and grading structure.
Anyway, we can reveal that Core Pay has to do with the skills and responsibilities of people's jobs (allegedly) - whereas Non Core Pay has to do with when these hours are worked over the course of the working week, month or year.
More news will follow about Core Pay soon - but to focus on Non Core Pay for the moment - it is indeed a weird and wonderful thing. Remember, the only reason for a new pay structure was tackle widespread pay discrimination - especially against female dominated jobs.
But lo and behold - to qualify for Non Core pay Glasgow employees have to work full-time hours i.e. 37 hours per week - whereas, as everyone knows, thousands of women work part-time hours - and are automatically excluded from the outset.
People working full-time hours get 7 points under the Non Core pay formula - which is worth £800 a year - but worth nothing if you're a part-time worker. As everyone knows, the vast majority of part-time workers are women.
People working 'task and finish' (Task Completion) jobs get awarded another 7 points under the Non Core pay formula - worth another 7 points - but as everyone knows the only people working 'task and finish' are traditional male jobs (refuse collection and suchlike).
No female jobs enjoy these conditions - the women always have to work to the end of their normal working day - and lose out again.
A full-time male worker doing a 'task and finish' job gets 14 points - and an extra £1280 a year - regardless of their job. Whilst a part-time female worker doing a full shift every day - gets absolutely nothing - no matter what job she does.
Sound familiar? Sound like the rules have been made up to suit the traditional male jobs?
We think so too.
