Accepting Responsibility

I've received lots of emails recently from readers in North Lanarkshire who are incredulous that no one, so far at least, seems to have been held accountable for the terrible mess the Council has made of equal pay.

Now I think that's a fair point because we're not just talking about the occasional error or innocent mistake; instead we are talking about a catalogue of sloppy and unprofessional work, poor and arguably negligent advice, a lack of transparency, a failure of leadership, all culminating in an refusal to accept that thousands of low paid have been very badly let down by the Council's arrogant behaviour over the past 10 years. 

So there is plenty for people to get their teeth into and while I am doing my bit those best placed to raise these issues within the Council are:

• independent-minded Labour councillors who are ashamed of the way the Labour-run administration has behaved over the past 10 years

• opposition councillors who are able to highlight glaring failures and demand proper answers, without using the issue as a political football

• the recognised trade unions who are able to declare a dispute, lodge a formal complaint and use their contacts to prevent things being swept under the carpet

Now I'm not and have never been an elected councillor, but I have plenty of experience of dealing with local councils, both in Scotland and elsewhere. 

And If I were dealing in North Lanarkshire today I would register a formal complaint with the Council over its handling of equal pay since 2005/06 - and I would name and shame some of the individuals who have dug the big hole that the Council finds itself in today.

I don't know any of the current union leadership, but to be fair I hear second-hand that some of them at least are an improvement from the days when the Council job evaluation scheme (JES) and new pay arrangements were being introduced.

Maybe the trade unions haven't gone down the road of registering a complaint because some of the key people involved are union members - chief officials are often union members and many belonged to Unison in my day.

But union membership is beside the point if you ask me, because what we are talking about here are the jobs and livelihoods of thousands of Council employees and that's what should always come first.

If you ask me, the way people have been treated over equal pay is nothing short of a disgrace and the Council workforce is due an apology.