Glasgow, Equal Pay and Job Evaluation

Here's a topical post from the GMB union on job evaluation (JE) and the ongoing fight for equal pay with Glasgow City Council.

The Council has poured 'cold water' on the extent of future equal pay claims and has rubbished the GMB's estimate that this could result in another bill in excess of £250 million (more on this to follow soon).

Yet the truth is that the City Council's 'unfit for purpose' and highly discriminatory WPBR pay scheme is still in operation and this will not be replaced until 2021 at the earliest.

So there is a further claim period of at least three full years between 2018 and 2021 plus the fact that there are now many more Glasgow Claimants - 19,000 and rising at the last count across all claimant organisations.   

 

Job Evaluation; Your Pay, Conditions and Job You may have heard that we are about to start a massive process of Job Evaluation with Glasgow City Council. GMB will communicate with members throughout this process and if you have any questions please speak to your local shop steward. At the tail end of the Job Evaluation process, your union will be engaged in negotiations over your terms and conditions. The process of job evaluation is separate to pay and grading negotiations but the fight for your pay and conditions starts now. This is the biggest review of pay and conditions ever undertaken by Glasgow City Council. What sets this current process apart from any other that has happened in years gone by is that Glasgow City Council is in the midst of a growing financial crisis. Glasgow has had the biggest budget cuts imposed on it in mainland Scotland. As you know the Council has had to find £550m to settle equal pay claims but equal pay has only been settled up until March 2018. The fact is, Glasgow is going to have to find another £250m (at least) to settle the discrimination that women in Glasgow are still suffering every minute of every working day and they will have to find this money by 2021. As if all this was not enough, GMB Scotland understands that Glasgow City Council is preparing for another £50m cut in its budget next year. We all know that services in the City have already been cut to the bone. Service users are suffering and you as an employee are struggling to deliver a decent service against a background to all these cuts. We know the stress and pressure many of our members are now under at work because of cuts in resources and we have already seen the backdoor privatisation of our services’ in Cleansing, Parks & Gardens and Highways maintenance. As your trade union we are telling you that we will need to come together and have the fight of our lives to ensure that things do not get worse. GMB Scotland shop stewards will be battling on your behalf through the job evaluation process and the review of the pay and grading system. Against this awful financial backdrop GMB Scotland will not accept cuts to our members’ terms and conditions of employment. We believe it is time to bring the lowest paid up whilst protecting those better off. We are under no illusions though that your employer will see this as an opportunity to cut terms and conditions for everyone. They will also seek to use this exercise and the further cuts to budgets as a way of justifying more cuts to jobs and services. Your GMB Scotland shop stewards will work diligently through negotiation, but ultimately our strength comes from our membership. This is our city and this is our fight. The people of Glasgow and employees of Glasgow City Council deserve better. GMB Scotland under my leadership in Glasgow has proven that we are a union that is prepared to fight and we are a union that can win. If you have colleagues who are not in a union it is time to get them to join. If you have ever thought of playing a leadership role in your workplace it is time to become a shop steward as we will need all the help we can get. If we stand together and are prepared to fight, we can win. I am telling you honestly now there is a huge battle ahead and we are fighting for all our futures and our City. In solidarity, Gary Smith- GMB Scotland Secretary

Glasgow's Fight for Equal Pay (09/08/19) I've taken a break from blogging over the summer, but now that the holidays are coming to and end it's important to remind everyone that the fight for equal pay is not yet over. There are still outstanding issues to resolve on behalf of different groups and of course some Claimants have still to receive their settlement offers.  So, the campaign continues and the focus will begin to shift towards the 'unfit for purpose' WPBR pay scheme which the Council has agreed to replace with a completely new, non-discriminatory job evaluation scheme (JES) - known as the Gauge Scheme. Now Glasgow City Council (along with all Scottish councils) was urged to use the Gauge Scheme more than 20 years ago - way back in 1999 would you believe! But for reasons known only to the Council's most senior officials Glasgow decided to opt for its cockamamy WPBR scheme which was torn to shreds in a landmark judgment from Scotland's highest civil court, the Court of Session, in August 2017 and December 2017. More to follow in the days and weeks ahead - so watch this space.