UNISON has called off two days of strikes 29 and 30 March and a large rally in Glasgow on Tuesday 29 March after the council has made significant concessions around equal pay. Planned strike action on 20 and 21 April remains in place.
Council leader Susan Aitken wrote to trade unions to say that she is ‘committed to settling on equal pay’ and that:
• Glasgow City Council’s current pay and grading scheme is discriminatory, and it needs to be replaced with some urgency.
• Glasgow City Council gives a commitment that job titles covered by the 2019 deal are settled using the 2019 deal and they will use the agreed formula to pay women.
• And women who have been undervalued and under paid for over a decade need to be compensated and that it is the council’s intention to make interim payments to women no later than October 2022
UNISON will suspend strike action while we enter 3 weeks of intense negotiations to work out the detail of these welcome statements.
Tracey Dalling, UNISON’s scottish secretary said: “Nobody should be under any misapprehension about the anger of women in Glasgow. They are determined to see this through. They have been fighting this for over 15 years. It is simply appalling that low paid women workers have to threaten to go on strike to get wages which are rightfully theirs.
Under pressure from union members the council has shifted its position, so we will suspend strike action on 29 and 30 of March and go into a three-week period of intense negotiations to hammer out the devil in the detail. Planned strike action on 20 and 21 April remains in place.
The council agree that they are discriminating against women, that they will stick to our 2019 deal, they will use the agreed payment formula, and will make interim payments to women no later than October 2022”
Notes
UNISON is the largest union in Glasgow City Council.
UNISON represent public services workers in local government, health, police staff, energy, social care and education.
UNISON represents 9000 women in Glasgow who are threatening strike action over equal pay. These include homecare workers, residential workers, cleaners, education additional needs workers and others.
UNISON Scotland contacts
Danny Phillips, communication officer: 07944 664110