Schools and home care to be hit over pay dispute action
THOUSANDS of workers have voted to strike in an equal pay dispute with Glasgow City Council.
A UNISON ballot of nearly 3000 school learning support workers, school administration workers, early years nursery workers and other education staff has returned a 90% vote to take strike action over the council’s failure to reach agreement on a long standing equal pay dispute.
In a second Unison ballot of more than 2,000 home carers, school cleaners, catering workers and other staff employed by Cordia 99% voted to strike.
Unison called it “an incredible result”.
It follows a ballot of GMB Scotland members including care workers, school cleaners and caterers employed by council service provider Cordia which returned an “overwhelming” 98 per cent support for strike action.
Unison warned the strike action would hit schools, nurseries, home care, cleaning and catering services in the city. Dates are still to be confirmed.
Carol Ball, Unison Glasgow chairman, said:“This is a fantastic show of strength by an overwhelmingly female workforce who have been treated disgracefully for years. They are now standing up and fighting back.
“We have given the council ten months to make progress on addressing the historical discrimination suffered by these workers. However the council has agreed nothing. Offered nothing. All we have had are meetings about meetings and talks about talks. It’s time for some action.
Unions condemned for “putting vulnerable at risk” over Glasgow equal pay strike
“Our 5000 Unison members will now move towards strike action, and we will co-ordinate that action with our sisters and brothers in the GMB trade union.”
GMB Scotland represented about 2000 of an estimated 10,000 women who have been pursuing equal pay claims against for more than ten years.
The city council last week said were preparing to reach a negotiated settlement and condemned the strike plan saying it was “putting vulnerable people at risk”, GMB had previously claimed that the council has cost taxpayers £50,000 an hour by failing to settle the dispute.
They believe the bill for ‘discriminating’ against the women over more than a decade could top £500million, a claim the council said was not accurate.
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A council spokesman said: “The union has asked its members to back strike action on the basis of a schedule of negotiations it not only agreed but signed up to on their behalf.
“The Council has committed to make an offer in December, which it will do, and we are committed to discuss the component parts of that offer prior to that.
“The union also knows full well that strike action cannot possibly make this process move any faster. Putting vulnerable people at risk by calling a strike which cannot change the timescale claimants agreed to cannot be justified.”