Glasgow Unison CCTV workers win major concessions on pay
After twelve days of strike action in six weeks, Glasgow’s CCTV workers have secured a new pay deal from their employer accepted by the strikers. The nineteen members of UNISON are employed by Community Safety Glasgow, an ALEO of Glasgow City Council, and were taking strike action over the employer’s failure to pay shift allowances. The dispute was about fairness and pay equality.
Glasgow City Unison commented on April 14th
“The strike, by these nineteen workers, pushed the employer into putting back on the table a long promised new equal pay structure. This new pay structure had been put on the backburner due to the budget situation in Glasgow City Council. This new pay structure, which will now be implemented later in the year, will see the workers pay rise by 24%.
In the meantime, the workers will receive an interim shift payment of £4,000 per year, backdated to 1 January 2016. This interim payment is less than the workers deserve after years of pay discrimination but the strike has moved the employer a fair distance from the first offer of £1,500. Importantly, the strike also secured a much shorter interim period as explained above.
Securing a permanent pay rise of 24% shows how badly these workers have been treated in the past. The failure by Glasgow City Council to properly co-ordinate pay and grading across its ALEOs under the so-called “Glasgow City Council Family” was a root cause of the years of pay discrimination endured by these workers.
In the current climate of local government funding cuts, the workers have won important concessions by taking solid, regular strike action. Well done to every one of them”.
Socialist Party Scotland and TUSC fully supported the strike action and lobbies, with Jamie Cocozza ,TUSC candidate for Glasgow Shettleston, visiting the London Road picket lines.
