Glasgow Equal Pay Strikes Suspended

Trade union groups have cancelled strikes this week across Glasgow in a possible breakthrough in an equal pay dispute.

Home carers, school cleaners, and caterers associated with GMB Scotland and Unison Scotland had planned strikes over delayed repayments from Glasgow City Council after an equal pay settlement agreed in 2019. The council assured on Friday that payments will be delivered by October, halting the planned strike for Tuesday and Wednesday.

Strike action is still scheduled for April pending talks with council leaders.

In a press release, GMB Scotland Organiser Sean Baillie said: “This is not a decision taken lightly. There is a deep mistrust of the council among our members, and particularly toward the unelected officials who have consistently hindered progress to tackle the pay discrimination which they imposed.”

Since 2017, companies in the UK with more than 250 employees are legally required to record payroll data and gendered pay gaps. This data is a snapshot average of hourly wages and bonuses.

While it is illegal for companies to pay an employee less for the same work based on gender, the pay gap comes from the average across the organisation as a whole.

The figures are available to view through the government website. Failing to report and publish this information could lead to enforcement by The Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Earlier this month on international women’s day the Gender Pay Gap Bot Twitter account raised awareness of the issue by retweeting companies and organisations who used keywords and hashtags such as #Breakthebias associated with International Women’s Day, along with the pay gaps within their organisations.

PoliticsLucette Wood