Glasgow - Things Are Heating Up
Well things are certainly heating up in Glasgow as we head towards another New Year.
The GMB union has been consulting its members on industrial action in recent days after Glasgow City Council and the Scottish Government rejected their pleas to speed up regular Covid testing for Home Care workers.
Now I hear that Unison is consulting its Glasgow members as well which is hardly surprising, inevitable really.
Because Scottish Ministers pulled out the stops to get university students home safely for Christmas - yet thousands of front line Home Carers in Glasgow are being told to wait until some unspecified time in 2021.
I have to say I expect the same thing to happen over equal pay and job evaluation (JE).
The City Council is committed to a further round of settlements by April 2021, but all the signs are that they are going to try and drag things out into 2022 - or beyond into 2023.
Glasgow's Fight for Equal Pay (13/12/20)
A reminder of where Glasgow's fight for equal pay stood in December 2018 - Council bosses had been dragging their feet for months, but began to negotiate seriously after the history-making, two-day strike in October 2018.
Who knows what's in store for the New Year, but regular readers will recall that April 2021 is the agreed date for completing the new job evaluation (JE) scheme and for the next round of equal pay settlements.
Here's a post from the blog site archive featuring Stefan Cross, Amanda Green, Shona Thomson and the City Council leader, Susan Aitken, on the eve on Glasgow's historic Equal Pay strike back on 23/24 October 2018.
Now as well as repeatedly saying that the strike was 'unnecessary' and that she didn't really understand why it was taking place, the Council leader also claimed that the women had 'won their case' by the time a new Council was elected in May 2017.
Which is very odd, I have to say, because in August 2017 Glasgow City Council tried to overturn the 'unfit for purpose' WPBR decision of the Court of Session - by seeking a further appeal to the UK Supreme Court in London.
The City Council lost this appeal, of course, but it wasn't for the lack of trying that its appeal was shot down in flames at a hearing in Edinburgh on 21 December 2017.
The other strange comment made by the Council leader is that while she says repeatedly (and correctly) that the WPBR pay scheme is blatantly discriminatory - that's not what her officials say in private.
Senior officials say that the Council is prepared to go back to the Employment Tribunals to defend the WPBR - so who is speaking the truth?
If the Council leader think it's unfair to criticise officials who are not present to defend themselves, then why not have a public debate involving the 'head' of the Council Family, Glasgow's chief executive Annemarie O'Donnell, and the Council leader herself?
Now wouldn't that be simply wonderful - I'll bet you could sell tickets.
Here's a link to the BBC's 'Woman's Hour' programme which discussed the fight for equal pay in Glasgow City Council earlier today.
Tune in and decide for yourself whether council bosses are speaking with a forked tongue!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0000syv
I listened to the Woman's Hour programme earlier today which discussed the fight for equal pay in Glasgow City Council.
Amanda Green (Unison) Shona Thomson (GMB) and Stefan Cross (A4ES) all gave a great account of themselves speaking on behalf of 'Team Equal Pay'.
Sadly, I can't say the same about the Council Leader, Susan Aitken, who said she didn't understand why the Glasgow claimants are going on strike.
So for the record and the umpteenth time the claimants are striking because of the Council's failure to deliver the 'serious negotiations' that were promised months ago.
Settlement talks are not making 'good progress', in fact they've broken down and quite incredibly the Council is refusing to talk to the unions (GMB and Unison) while strike action is underway or is being planned.
If settlement talks had been making 'good progress' as Susan Aitken claims, there would be no strike and thousands of outstanding equal pay claims would not be heading back to the Employment Tribunals - which they are!
If you ask me, this kind of insulting, ill-informed rubbish is making things worse rather than better - the claimants have very right to go on strike to make their point and instead of attacking the workforce, the Council should be listening to what they have to say.
Glasgow's workers are not 'mindless sheep'.
Stefan Cross and two carers are on the BBC's Radio 4 programme at 10am this morning to discuss the fight for equal pay with Glasgow City Council.
Glasgow's Fight for Equal Pay (08/12/18)
Here's a post from the blog site archive featuring Stefan Cross, Amanda Green, Shona Thomson and the City Council leader, Susan Aitken, on the eve on Glasgow's historic Equal Pay strike back on 23/24 October 2018.
Now as well as repeatedly saying that the strike was 'unnecessary' and that she didn't really understand why it was taking place, the Council leader also claimed that the women had 'won their case' by the time a new Council was elected in May 2017.
Which is very odd, I have to say, because in August 2017 Glasgow City Council tried to overturn the 'unfit for purpose' WPBR decision of the Court of Session - by seeking a further appeal to the UK Supreme Court in London.
The City Council lost this appeal, of course, but it wasn't for the lack of trying that its appeal was shot down in flames at a hearing in Edinburgh on 21 December 2017.
The other strange comment made by the Council leader is that while she says repeatedly (and correctly) that the WPBR pay scheme is blatantly discriminatory - that's not what her officials say in private.
Senior officials say that the Council is prepared to go back to the Employment Tribunals to defend the WPBR - so who is speaking the truth?
If the Council leader think it's unfair to criticise officials who are not present to defend themselves, then why not have a public debate involving the 'head' of the Council Family, Glasgow's chief executive Annemarie O'Donnell, and the Council leader herself?
Now wouldn't that be simply wonderful - I'll bet you could sell tickets.
Glasgow's Fight for Equal Pay (22/10/18)
Here's a link to the BBC's 'Woman's Hour' programme which discussed the fight for equal pay in Glasgow City Council earlier today.
Tune in and decide for yourself whether council bosses are speaking with a forked tongue!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0000syv
Glasgow's Equal Pay Claimants Know Why They're Striking! (22/10/18)
I listened to the Woman's Hour programme earlier today which discussed the fight for equal pay in Glasgow City Council.
Amanda Green (Unison) Shona Thomson (GMB) and Stefan Cross (A4ES) all gave a great account of themselves speaking on behalf of 'Team Equal Pay'.
Sadly, I can't say the same about the Council Leader, Susan Aitken, who said she didn't understand why the Glasgow claimants are going on strike.
So for the record and the umpteenth time the claimants are striking because of the Council's failure to deliver the 'serious negotiations' that were promised months ago.
Settlement talks are not making 'good progress', in fact they've broken down and quite incredibly the Council is refusing to talk to the unions (GMB and Unison) while strike action is underway or is being planned.
If settlement talks had been making 'good progress' as Susan Aitken claims, there would be no strike and thousands of outstanding equal pay claims would not be heading back to the Employment Tribunals - which they are!
If you ask me, this kind of insulting, ill-informed rubbish is making things worse rather than better - the claimants have very right to go on strike to make their point and instead of attacking the workforce, the Council should be listening to what they have to say.
Glasgow's workers are not 'mindless sheep'.
Woman's Hour and Glasgow's Fight for Equal Pay
Stefan Cross and two carers are on the BBC's Radio 4 programme at 10am this morning to discuss the fight for equal pay with Glasgow City Council.
