Eight thousand woman to strike over failure by council to settle equal pay dispute

Around 8,000 women are set to strike this week (23-24 October) over Glasgow City Council’s failure to settle an equal pay dispute that has lasted 12 years.

The employees involved include school administration workers, learning support workers in schools, nursery workers, home carers, cleaners, caterers and other council workers.

In January this year it was revealed that the Court of Session had refused the council permission to appeal. In 2017 the court had ruled that the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeals Tribunal had both been wrong in agreeing that a scheme used by Glasgow had been fair.

UNISON said that after 10 months and more than 20 meetings, it and another union, the GMB, considered that “enough is enough”.

UNISON Glasgow chair Mary Dawson said: “We have given the council 10 months to make progress on addressing the historical discrimination suffered by these workers.

“However, the council has agreed nothing, offered nothing and all we have had are meetings about meetings and talks about talks. It’s time for some action.”

The dispute arose out of a new pay and grading scheme the council introduced in 2006, which was supposed to put an end to pay inequality based on gender.

However, it included protections lasting three years for bonuses paid to men, but not women, UNISON said. That led to employment tribunal cases arguing that it was both unfair and unlawful to continue pay discrimination for three years after the new scheme was put into place.

Glasgow City Council said it expected to make an offer to the claimants in December, “as agreed”. However, it added that industrial action might affect this timescale.

“We're making every effort to negotiate with trade unions to avoid a strike or, if that is not possible, minimise its impact on vulnerable people,” the local authority added.