Key facts
- Glasgow City Council paused its plan to dismiss and rehire over 23,000 non-teaching staff.
- The council had planned to send dismissal notices next week, with new contracts effective January 1.
- The move aimed to implement a new pay and grading system to replace a discriminatory 2006 scheme.
- The council claimed 90% of staff would see their pay rise or stay the same, while 11% faced cuts.
- Unions, including Unison, GMB, and Unite, opposed the plan, calling it a 'scandalous threat'.
Glasgow City Council has paused its plan to dismiss and rehire more than 23,000 non-teaching staff following the breakdown of pay talks with unions. The council had intended to send dismissal notices next week, with new contracts set to take effect from January 1, to implement a new pay and grading system. This system was designed to replace a 2006 scheme found to be discriminatory against mostly women workers.
The council stated that 90% of staff would see their pay rise or remain the same under the new scheme, while 11% were expected to face wage cuts, with the largest reduction estimated at £11,500. Talks collapsed on Wednesday after Unison announced it would not ballot its members on a proposed new pay offer. Colin Edgar, the council's director of communications and corporate governance, criticized Unison's decision, stating it betrayed members and left no agreed way forward, adding that the rejected offer would have removed dismissal threats and provided additional funds for back pay.
Unions have strongly opposed the council's approach. Mandy McDowall, Unison Scotland regional organiser, called it an attempt to 'bully' staff into a 'shoddy deal' and warned the council risked becoming a 'pariah employer'. Graham McNabb, Unite the Union industrial officer, described the fire and rehire tactic as a 'scandalous threat' and vowed to counter it with 'the full force of Unite'.