Glasgow City Council and Unison reach agreement in pay and grading row

Glasgow City Council and the largest council union, Unison, have reached an agreement in a pay and grading dispute.

The local authority says this means it will not consider firing and rehiring more than 23,000 staff.

The dispute was over the new pay and grading structure designed to deal with the underlying issues which led to thousands of equal pay claims from female workers past and present.

The original proposal would have resulted in wage cuts for 11% of the employees assessed so far but, under the new deal, their salaries will now be protected for three years.

Unison said negotiations were continuing and it would ballot its members later this month.

Council leader Ricky Bell said: "I am delighted that we have been able to reach agreement with Unison.

"This deal means we are able to remove the unpalatable prospect of fire and rehire, with proposals put to members in a ballot later this month."

Bell added that it was a "strong and fair deal" and confirmed that both the GMB and Unite unions had also agreed to take it to their members.

He said: "With all three unions now engaging with their memberships, we are moving closer to the outcome we have always wanted to achieve: ending pay discrimination in Glasgow City Council once and for all."

The council leader said additional support from the Scottish government had "helped unlock this agreement" and thanked the unions for their engagement.

He concluded: "While there is no further money to come as part of this package, I look forward to the outcome of the ballots in the coming weeks.

"We have always been clear that our goal is to deliver a fair, sustainable pay and grading system that works for employees and protects vital public services. We are now closer than ever to achieving that."

Unison said it had secured "major improvements on pay and grading".

It also confirmed that a proposal for pay protection for workers facing losses had been increased to three years.

The council has also agreed to continue discussions with the union on outstanding issues including lower-paid workers, allowances, unevaluated jobs, equality impacts and the operation of the new pay model.

Unison said the breakthrough created a route towards a ballot of its membership, without the council dictating the union's recommendation or communications.

The union added that important issues remained unresolved but negotiations would continue before members voted.

Chris Sermanni, Glasgow City Unison branch secretary, said: "Unison stood firm because Glasgow's workers deserved better than what was originally put on the table.

"That position has secured significant movement.

"There's now a path for Unison members to give their verdict without the immediate threat of dismissal and re-engagement hanging over them."

Sermanni stressed that the union had not accepted the pay and grading package and said the "fight for improvements" was not over.

"Thousands of workers are owed substantial and long-overdue increases and we want them to receive every penny," he said.

"At the same time, other workers face significant losses and some still don't even know their final outcome.

"The period ahead will be used to keep fighting to give the whole workforce the information they need to make their decision."

Mandy McDowall, Unison Scotland regional organiser, said the intervention of the Scottish government had "helped create the space for further progress".

The timetable for the ballot, which will last four weeks, will be confirmed soon.

David Hume, GMB organiser at the local authority, said: "These proposals come after seven years of hard negotiation and that is long enough.

"Every day workers are being underpaid is a day too long and there is no more time to lose.

"Our members at the council will now vote on these proposals as swiftly as possible."

Hume said the local authority had introduced new financial supports, including £110m to cover additional back pay.

He added: "We are satisfied these additional measures, along with the protections already in place, mean this framework will deliver fairer pay for workers across the council.

"It is their voice that must be heard now. It is their decision to take."

Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth, who was involved in negotiations after talks between Unison and the council initially fell apart, said she hoped the news would be reassuring for staff.

The threat of "fire and rehire" at Glasgow City Council is over.

But the row over the changes to the grading structure is not over.

The council has improved protection for 11% of staff whose salaries could eventually be cut. No-one will see a reduction for three years.

But the largest council union, Unison, highlights other outstanding issues it has concerns over.

All three major council unions are now prepared to let their members vote on the changes. Unison had previously said it could not do this because of what was previously on offer.

The outcome of these ballots is not a forgone conclusion.

However, the removal of the threat of "fire and rehire" marks a major de-escalation of the row.