From 'Quiet Bunch' to 'Wild Bunch' (12/05/18)
Now David's reluctance to meet and discuss the issues surprised me I have to say because he strikes me as someone who is keen to take up local issues.
So while equal pay is a matter for Glasgow City Council, you would think that Glasgow's politicians would take a keen interest in and speak up about specific issues which affect the interests of their local constituents.
- the Council's 'unfit for purpose' WPBR scheme
- the impact of the 37 hour 'rule' on Glasgow's largely female workforce
- the years of pay discrimination against thousands of Cordia council employees
- the FOI battle for openness and transparency over the introduction of the WPBR
Apologies for the delay in responding - I’m still catching up with emails from a busy couple of weeks.
I’m told that Susan Aitken herself is going to be organising a public Q&A event with those impacted by the equal pay issue, so I think that would be of considerably more benefit than a small, select group meeting only with me.
I’m always happy to meet individual constituents - including yourself - to pursue casework but given that this is ultimately a Council issue, I think it would be of more use for you to see Susan directly.
I cannot stress enough how much we want to see this issue resolved. As you know, we’ve committed to resolve it - and we will - but I think it’s important that all parties at the table acknowledge that it’s not going to be just concluded overnight.
Best wishes,
David
As for leaving all of this to a Q & A session with Susan Aitken, this meeting was originally supposed to take place in March and we are now into May - so I think it's entirely reasonable that Glasgow's MPs, MSPs and local councillors started asking some tough questions themselves.
So it seems that Humza Yousaf, the MSP for Glasgow Pollok and Scotland's transport minister, is not a 'Quiet Man' after all when it comes to speaking his mind on social media.
According to the Evening Times Humza has been accused of 'trolling' Rangers fans by poking fun at the suggestion that the former Liverpool and England captain, Stephen Gerrard, could become the Ibrox club's new manager.
Now I can't see anything wrong with what Humza had to say because his comments were not in the least provocative or insulting - even if some Rangers fans choose to take offence while turning a convenient 'deaf ear' to the antics of the sectarian element of their own support.
But what astonishes me is that while Humza has time to tweet about football, as a local MSP Humza has had nothing to say about the fight for equal pay in Glasgow City Council.
Now I'm sure Humza 'supports' the principle of equal pay (who doesn't?), the point is that he has had nothing of substance to say about what's going on in Glasgow City Council - despite me sending Humza and all the other Glasgow MSPs and MPs barrowloads of information explaining:
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/16188518.Transport_minister_Humza_Yousaf_in_trolling_Rangers_fans_row_over__Stephen_Gerrard__tweet/
Transport minister Humza Yousaf in trolling Rangers fans row over "Stephen Gerrard" tweet
I've sent a copy of my post on 'Glasgow - Accountability and Equal Pay' to all of the city's MSPs and MPs along with the following Twitter message:
It's a disgrace that so many senior officials were so handsomely rewarded over while GCC got into a terrible mess over equal pay. Some have been awarded top-ups to their pensions and been awarded honours 'for services to local government'
I am also planning to send a copy to all elected councillors in Glasgow and I'm sure lots of equal pay claimants will want to follow this up with messages of their own as the campaign heats in the weeks ahead.
I will publish contact details for Glasgow's MSPs and MPs on the bloke site again and you can find that email and phone numbers for your own local councillor via the following link to the City Council's web site: https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=17565
A number of readers have been in touch to say that their local MSPs or MPs don't respond to emails which I find quite shocking, I have to admit.
If this happens again, then let me know the names of any Glasgow politicians behaving so rudely because it is obviously part of their job to respond to constituents' enquiries and take their concerns seriously.
And if they can't be bothered to do so, I'm happy to 'name names' and share people's experiences on the blog site.
From 'Quiet Bunch' to 'Wild Bunch' (27/04/18)
According to the Evening Times Humza has been accused of 'trolling' Rangers fans by poking fun at the suggestion that the former Liverpool and England captain, Stephen Gerrard, could become the Ibrox club's new manager.
Now I can't see anything wrong with what Humza had to say because his comments were not in the least provocative or insulting - even if some Rangers fans choose to take offence while turning a convenient 'deaf ear' to the antics of the sectarian element of their own support.
But what astonishes me is that while Humza has time to tweet about football, as a local MSP Humza has had nothing to say about the fight for equal pay in Glasgow City Council.
Now I'm sure Humza 'supports' the principle of equal pay (who doesn't?), the point is that he has had nothing of substance to say about what's going on in Glasgow City Council - despite me sending Humza and all the other Glasgow MSPs and MPs barrowloads of information explaining:
- the Council's 'unfit for purpose' WPBR scheme
- the impact of the 37 hour 'rule' on Glasgow's largely female workforce
- the years of pay discrimination against thousands of Cordia council employees
- the FOI battle for openness and transparency over the introduction of the WPBR
By Martin Williams @Martin1Williams - The Evening Times
Transport minister Humza Yousaf in trolling Rangers fans row over "Stephen Gerrard" tweet
TRANSPORT minister Humza Yousaf has come under fire for "trolling" Rangers fans over news that ex-Liverpool and England captain Steven Gerrard was in talks with the club to become new manager.
Mr Yousaf took to social media to comment after it emerged that Gerrard was in the frame to replace Graeme Murty.
But Mr Yousaf, a Celtic fan, was strongly criticised after he tweeted: "Spoiler alert - Gerrard won't be Rangers manager."
Follow Rangers Shareholders, the new supporters group aimed at participating in fan ownership accused Mr Yousaf of "trolling".
They said: "We are astonished and disappointed that Scottish Government minister Humza Yousaf spent part of the normal working day trolling Rangers supporters.
"It's clear where his priorities lie - and it's not with the welfare of the Scottish people!"
Mr Yousaf later responded: "No idea why on earth anyone would be offended or insulted by my opinion that it is very unlikely Stephen (sic) Gerrard will be the next Rangers manager."
One fan pointed out that Gerrard's first name is spelt with a 'v'.
Ibrox director of football Mark Allen is leading the search for Rangers next boss and it is understood he has been speaking to a number of candidates to take over the Ibrox hot seat, with Gerrard's name expected to be on a shortlist.
The former Liverpool and England captain, who retired as a player in 2016, was appointed manager of Liverpool's under 18s team last summer.
Last year Mr Yousaf was accused of “baiting” Rangers fans – after apparently publishing a tweet mocking them for their Old Firm defeat to Celtic.
Mr Yousaf who is Minister for Transport and the Islands,deleted the tweet after facing a strong backlash.
Yousaf sent the tweet after being called a “w***” by a Rangers fan online.
His post read: “I can’t *5-1* imagine what is *5-1* upsetting you to such *5-1* an extent that you would *5-1* make such a foul *5-1* insult? *5-1.”
Transport minister Humza Yousaf in trolling Rangers fans row over "Stephen Gerrard" tweet
TRANSPORT minister Humza Yousaf has come under fire for "trolling" Rangers fans over news that ex-Liverpool and England captain Steven Gerrard was in talks with the club to become new manager.
Mr Yousaf took to social media to comment after it emerged that Gerrard was in the frame to replace Graeme Murty.
But Mr Yousaf, a Celtic fan, was strongly criticised after he tweeted: "Spoiler alert - Gerrard won't be Rangers manager."
Follow Rangers Shareholders, the new supporters group aimed at participating in fan ownership accused Mr Yousaf of "trolling".
They said: "We are astonished and disappointed that Scottish Government minister Humza Yousaf spent part of the normal working day trolling Rangers supporters.
"It's clear where his priorities lie - and it's not with the welfare of the Scottish people!"
Mr Yousaf later responded: "No idea why on earth anyone would be offended or insulted by my opinion that it is very unlikely Stephen (sic) Gerrard will be the next Rangers manager."
One fan pointed out that Gerrard's first name is spelt with a 'v'.
Ibrox director of football Mark Allen is leading the search for Rangers next boss and it is understood he has been speaking to a number of candidates to take over the Ibrox hot seat, with Gerrard's name expected to be on a shortlist.
The former Liverpool and England captain, who retired as a player in 2016, was appointed manager of Liverpool's under 18s team last summer.
Last year Mr Yousaf was accused of “baiting” Rangers fans – after apparently publishing a tweet mocking them for their Old Firm defeat to Celtic.
Mr Yousaf who is Minister for Transport and the Islands,deleted the tweet after facing a strong backlash.
Yousaf sent the tweet after being called a “w***” by a Rangers fan online.
His post read: “I can’t *5-1* imagine what is *5-1* upsetting you to such *5-1* an extent that you would *5-1* make such a foul *5-1* insult? *5-1.”
Glasgow's Politicians (25/04/18)
I've sent a copy of my post on 'Glasgow - Accountability and Equal Pay' to all of the city's MSPs and MPs along with the following Twitter message:
It's a disgrace that so many senior officials were so handsomely rewarded over while GCC got into a terrible mess over equal pay. Some have been awarded top-ups to their pensions and been awarded honours 'for services to local government'
I am also planning to send a copy to all elected councillors in Glasgow and I'm sure lots of equal pay claimants will want to follow this up with messages of their own as the campaign heats in the weeks ahead.
I will publish contact details for Glasgow's MSPs and MPs on the bloke site again and you can find that email and phone numbers for your own local councillor via the following link to the City Council's web site: https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=17565
A number of readers have been in touch to say that their local MSPs or MPs don't respond to emails which I find quite shocking, I have to admit.
If this happens again, then let me know the names of any Glasgow politicians behaving so rudely because it is obviously part of their job to respond to constituents' enquiries and take their concerns seriously.
And if they can't be bothered to do so, I'm happy to 'name names' and share people's experiences on the blog site.
