Who Speaks for Glasgow?
Here's an interesting statement that just might have a significant impact on the fight for equal pay in Glasgow City Council.
"The whole issue arose out of the fact that the (WPBR) pay and grading scheme the Council has, has been found to discriminate against women, and we completely accept that it does."
Now these words were spoken by Cllr Mhairi Hunter whom I have met previously to discuss Glasgow's equal pay dispute and who has accompanied Council Leader, Susan Aitken, to an equal pay meeting or two at the Dixon Halls in Govanhill.
I think I'm correct in saying that Mhairi also has a role as office manager in Nicola Sturgeon's parliamentary office which is located in the First Minister's Glasgow Southside constituency.
So back to what Mhairi said on Sunday about the Council's 'unfit for purpose' WPBR pay scheme via a local Glasgow TV programme, Full Scottish.
Mhairi's words are unequivocal and unambiguous- the City Council completely accepts that its WPBR pay scheme is discriminatory, a view which helpfully chimes with that of the Court of Session, the highest civil court in Scotland.
The only problem is that this is not the stance that has been adopted by the council's senior officials in 8 months of equal pay settlement 'negotiations' which have been taking place since the start of 2018.
Nor it it likely to the the position of the Council when all the outstanding equal pay cases go back to the Glasgow Employment Tribunal on 25 September, if 8 long months of unproductive settlement 'negotiations' are anything to go by.
So who has got it right - who is speaking plainly and who is speaking with a forked tongue?
What is Glasgow City Council's position when it comes to the WPBR - does the Council accept unequivocally that the scheme is discriminatory?
I think that claimants are entitled to ask this question of the Council Leader, Susan Aitken, and for the avoidance of doubt the Council's chief executive, Annemarie O'Donnell, as well.
If you'd like to email a question along the following lines to Susan Aitken and Annemarie O'Donnell, their respective email addresses are shown below.
Dear Susan/ Dear Annemarie
Glasgow's WPBR Pay Scheme
Can you please confirm that Glasgow City Council accepts the judgment of the Court of Session that the WPBR is 'unfit for purpose' and that the scheme discriminates against the Council's largely female workforce?"
Yours sincerely
A Glasgow Equal Pay Claimant
Susan Aitken's email address
Susan.Aitken@glasgow.gov.uk
Annemarie O'Donnell's email address:
annemarie.odonnell@ced.glasgow.gov.uk
By the way, Mhairi Hunter's full interview can be viewed via the link below to the Full Scottish and her comments on equal pay are about 6 minutes in.
