Unison recommends members reject Glasgow City Council’s pay and grading offer

The largest union at Glasgow City Council has recommended that members reject the local authority’s pay and grading offer.

Unison opened a ballot on the roll-out of a new pay and grading structure on Monday. However, it believes there is not enough money to reduce the detriment facing lower-grade staff.

There are also concerns over thousands of members being asked to vote before their jobs have been evaluated, “leaving them in the dark” about how the proposals could affect them.

Glasgow City Council is introducing a new pay structure to replace a 2006 scheme that discriminated against mainly women workers, but around 11% of staff are facing a wage cut. The highest drop in wages is expected to be around £11,500. 

The local authority looked set to ‘fire and rehire’ all non-teaching staff earlier this month, after talks with Unison broke down. But the union agreed to ballot its members after fresh negotiations involving the Scottish Government.

Three years’ pay protection for workers facing detriment was secured through the talks. But Chris Sermanni, Unison Glasgow City branch secretary, said: “While the proposed deal includes some important protections secured through negotiations, the package does not go far enough, and we are recommending members vote to reject it.

“There’s not enough money on the table to address the losses facing staff in lower grades. And with thousands of jobs still to be evaluated, many members are being asked to vote without knowing what the proposals will mean for them. That’s not good enough.”

He added: “Unison fought hard for the Scottish Government’s involvement in negotiations and secured an extended three years’ pay protection for all workers. 

“But important questions remain unanswered and members deserve to understand what the proposals mean for them before being asked to accept it.”

Unison regional organiser Mandy McDowall said the Glasgow City branch had voted narrowly to reject the package, describing it as an “incredibly difficult decision, as we have made significant progress and many members stand to benefit from these proposals, particularly low-paid women”.

She added: “It has taken many years fighting for equal pay to eradicate Glasgow City Council’s discriminatory pay scheme. Yet, while we have secured major gains for staff, the current proposals still leave far too many workers behind.

“Until we can be assured that all staff receive the same pay protections and that every worker understands how they will be affected, this offer falls short of what council staff deserve.”

In a social media post, the branch added: “It’s now for members, having looked at all the information, to decide if you wish to accept or reject this package.

“If members vote by a majority to reject, next steps could involve renewed negotiations with the council, a risk of fire and rehire being threatened again, and ultimately escalation up to and including industrial action.”

It stated Unison will continue to stand up against “anti-worker threats”. “If members vote by a majority to accept, this would result in a collective agreement and acceptance of the package,” the post continued.

Unison’s ballot runs until November 23. The GMB and Unite are also balloting members on the council’s proposal.

Under the new structure, almost 89% of employees, whose roles have been evaluated so far, will receive a positive or neutral outcome. However, just over 11% — which is over 2,000 workers — are facing wage cuts. The council has said 87% of these will experience a detriment of 10% or less.

Council leader Ricky Bell, SNP, said the deal on the table is “the best it can be”. “It sees wages stay the same or rise for 90% of our staff, it contains hundreds of millions of pounds in back pay, and we have three years of protection for staff who are losing.

“Most importantly, we will finally do away with the discrimination we have perpetuated against our own staff for two decades.

“It is vital that all union members vote to approve this package so that we can get on with making the back payments and ending the discrimination.”