Glasgow City Council pauses fire and rehire plans for 25,000 staff after union backlash
Glasgow City Council has paused plans to fire and then rehire up to 25,000 workers after talks with the Scottish Government and unions on Friday.
Glasgow City Council has paused plans to fire and then rehire up to 25,000 workers after talks with the Scottish Government and unions today.
The local authority intended to issue dismissal letters to all non-teaching staff next week, as it pushed ahead with plans to introduce a new pay and grading structure.
The move came after negotiations with unions collapsed earlier this week. Unite and the GMB had wanted to put a deal to their members, but Unison withdrew from the process.
Without a collective agreement, the council said it had no option but to dismiss staff and then re-engage them on new terms. But the plan was met by a strong backlash from all three unions.
It has now been confirmed the fire and rehire plan has been paused, and negotiations will resume next week to try to reach a deal.
The council said it followed constructive discussions with the Scottish Government and unions this afternoon.
Cllr Allan Casey, SNP, the council’s convener for workforce, said: “I’m pleased that we’ve reached a position following a meeting with the Scottish Government and the three unions where a pause has been agreed.”
He said the pause would allow “the ACAS package to be put back on the table”, creating the “space for further intensive negotiations with the joint trade unions”.
ACAS is the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, an independent public body. Unions had been considered an improved deal, worth £110m, earlier this week.
Council bosses had described it as a “substantial injection of cash to fund additional back pay and take the possibility of dismissals off the table”.
Cllr Casey said: “Our goal remains clear: to secure collective agreement on a new pay and grading scheme that is free from discrimination and can be put to the workforce in a ballot.
“Both I and the wider council leadership remain fully committed to working with trade unions and staff to deliver a fairer and more sustainable pay structure for the future.”
A new pay and grading structure is being introduced to replace a 2006 scheme that discriminated against mainly women workers.
David Hume, GMB organiser at Glasgow City Council, said: “The threat of fire and rehire should never have been made in the first place. The council had a choice to make and made the wrong one.
“Having said that, we welcome its willingness to quickly review and reverse that decision and put the pay proposals back on the table.
“After seven years of hard negotiations, we believe the new structure is ready to be put before our members. They should now be allowed to decide and that should be done as a matter of urgency.”
The SNP administration and Green group voted to move ahead with an overhaul of the council’s pay and grading structure at a meeting last month. It is set to involve the phased roll-out of new terms and conditions for thousands of non-teaching staff from April next year.
Under that plan, 63% of those affected gain financially while 11% will have their wages reduced. The highest drop in wages is expected to be around £11,500.
Negotiations with the unions led to theimproved offer, but it was removed when pay talks fell apart, but could now be reconsidered when meetings resume next week.
GMB and Unite had wanted to put the deal to their members but Unison said it did not serve their members’ best interests. It said it was fighting for around 2,000 workers who are facing detriment.