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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Kathleen Speirs & Paul Hutcheon

Scots equal pay strike suspended despite 'deep mistrust' in council

Scots council workers who planned to walk out for two days over an equal pay dispute have suspended strike action.

Members of GMB Scotland and Unison Scotland in Glasgow City Council announced the suspension on Friday.

We told how Unison said its members in Glasgow would strike on March 29 and 30 and will then do so again in April if there is no resolution to the dispute.

It called out nearly 9,000 members and said that, with a sister trade union also joining the action, more than 12,000 workers could strike.

This would have affected home care, cleaning, catering, schools, nurseries, residential homes, homelessness hostels and addiction services across the council.

GMB Scotland Organiser Sean Baillie stressed that there is still a 'deep mistrust of the council' and strike action on April 20 and 21 'remain scheduled'.

Mr Baillie said: “Our members have suspended their strike action scheduled for this Tuesday and Wednesday, following assurances from the council leader that the 2019 deal will be maintained for negotiations over interim payments, and that those payments will be delivered by October.

“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.

“The strike actions for April 20 and 21 remain scheduled.

"We expect the council leader’s participation in talks over the coming days and weeks, and that an offer and plan for the settlement and payment of interim and new claims is set-out in advance of April 20."

Glasgow City Council agreed to pay out at least £500 million in 2019 following a long-running equal pay row.

Women claimed they were paid £3 an hour less than men in similarly graded roles after a 2006 pay review aimed at ensuring pay parity.

The 2019 agreement settled pay claims up until March 2018 and included a new pay and grading system to rectify issues of unequal pay, primarily of women.

The union said that, since then, around 5,500 new claims have been lodged for the period prior to March 2018, with nearly 20,000 claimants awaiting settlements for the period after that.

It said the current dispute centres around whether the new claimants receive the terms of the 2019 agreement.

Unison members voted 96 per cent for strike action on a 52.5 per cent turnout.

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