I apologise for equal pay scandal.. I wish that we could go back and do it differently
Labour candidate reveals regret over failures
LABOUR’S candidate to lead Glasgow City Council has apologised for his party’s role in the equal pay scandal.
Malcolm Cunning said he understood why some female workers denied fair wages feel let down by Labour. He also indicated the local authority may have to remortgage more properties to meet outstanding claims. The councillor, who joined Labour in the late 70s, is going head-to-head with the SNP’s Susan Aitken to run Glasgow after May’s election. Central to his party’s manifesto is addressing what one trade union leader described as the “filthy” state of the city. Cunning, who represents the Linn ward, said: “It’s cleanliness, it’s bin uplift, it’s rubbish on the streets, it’s potholes. We certainly are looking to invest both money and people into addressing those issues.
“We’ve lost 269 frontline staff from cleansing in the past five years. We will put 250, as a minimum, back in. We will also invest £6million over three years in a cleaner, greener Glasgow project.”
He is critical of leader Aitken, adding: “Over the past five years Councillor Aitken has been particularly clotheared – both to the concerns of citizens and, perhaps even more harmful, some of the stuff she’s said about our own staff and our own trade unions, which has actually undermined the work of the council.”
However, the legacy of Labour’s record running the city is also an issue in the election.
When the party last ran Glasgow, the Labour administration failed to resolve the thousands of equal pay claims made by female council workers.
Aitken’s administration, by contrast, came up with a partial solution that involved remortgaging major venues.
Cunning said of former Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard’s apology on behalf of his party: “I think Richard was right to say we made a mistake and to apologise for the difficulties that it created, yes.”
Asked if he would also apologise for mistakes made, he said: “I apologise for what happened.”
He said of Labour’s handling of the issue: “It was a genuine attempt to resolve what was already accepted to be an issue with equal pay.
“We then landed up in a legal quagmire that lasted for years and if we could go back and do it differently, I would love to be able to do that. But a decision was made in good faith.”
He added: “I recognise there are some women who are no longer with us. I absolutely understand that anger.”
Cunning believes the solution to the remaining multi-million equal pay bill lies in the remortgaging plan, saying: “We are still sitting on properties that aren’t part of that process”
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has attracted criticism for saying he is against any coalitions with the Tories or SNP in local government after May.
Cunning agreed, saying: “Here in Glasgow, we are not interested in a coalition.”
He confirmed he would stand down as leader after three or four years, adding: “I’ve always indicated I’m likely not to stand as a councillor in the next council election as I will be 70 the week before the next council election.”
In Glasgow, we are not interested in a coalition MALCOLM CUNNING AGREES WITH ANAS SARWAR