Small World (01/04/12)
I asked readers in North Lanarkshire for help the other day.
I wanted to know if people could help trace the background to the controversial North Lanarkshire Council bonus scheme which has hit the newspaper headlines recently.
The one that seems to be restricted to only the most senior and highly paid officials, as far as anyone knows.
I asked readers if a reference (HR/IW) on the previously secret document which has been dragged out of the council via an FOI request might provide a clue.
Since then readers' suggestions have been flying in by e-mail and they all point in the same direction - that HR stands for Human Resources and that IW stands for Iris Wylie, the council's Head of Human Resources.
Now that would make sense - why didn't I think of it before?
Because the name Iris Wylie is on the list as receiving a top-up or bonus payment of £5,758.56 and HR is the obvious area of the council from which to seek advice on pay issues.
So who knows for sure?
Maybe the council will explain the background properly and publicly or maybe Iris Wylie will get in touch directly and fill in some of the the gaps in people's knowledge which I'm happy to publish on the blog site.
I first met Iris Wylie years ago, but haven't seen her in the flesh for some time.
The last occasion I remember seeing Iris was at the Scottish TUC in Glasgow in 1999 when she was 'stepping out', so to speak, with the Scottish Convener of Unison, Mike Kirby.
Mike has since moved on from his role as convener and stepped up, so to speak, to become the union's regional secretary in Scotland, a full-time paid official in other words.
Iris and Mike are both mentioned in a previous post to the blog site, one of the earliest posts in fact, going all the way back to April 2007.
So it all just goes to show what a small world it really is though that doesn't help to explain why a Labour council - yes a Labour council - would introduce an incentive pay scheme or a bonus scheme for those at the top, as I think it should be called.
Especially one that rewards only the most senior council officials and appears to exclude the vast majority of the workforce - many of whom are very low paid of course - and many of whom are still fighting for equal pay.
No wonder people are so cynical about politics and politicans these days and that includes the politics of local government.
I wanted to know if people could help trace the background to the controversial North Lanarkshire Council bonus scheme which has hit the newspaper headlines recently.
The one that seems to be restricted to only the most senior and highly paid officials, as far as anyone knows.
I asked readers if a reference (HR/IW) on the previously secret document which has been dragged out of the council via an FOI request might provide a clue.
Since then readers' suggestions have been flying in by e-mail and they all point in the same direction - that HR stands for Human Resources and that IW stands for Iris Wylie, the council's Head of Human Resources.
Now that would make sense - why didn't I think of it before?
Because the name Iris Wylie is on the list as receiving a top-up or bonus payment of £5,758.56 and HR is the obvious area of the council from which to seek advice on pay issues.
So who knows for sure?
Maybe the council will explain the background properly and publicly or maybe Iris Wylie will get in touch directly and fill in some of the the gaps in people's knowledge which I'm happy to publish on the blog site.
I first met Iris Wylie years ago, but haven't seen her in the flesh for some time.
The last occasion I remember seeing Iris was at the Scottish TUC in Glasgow in 1999 when she was 'stepping out', so to speak, with the Scottish Convener of Unison, Mike Kirby.
Mike has since moved on from his role as convener and stepped up, so to speak, to become the union's regional secretary in Scotland, a full-time paid official in other words.
Iris and Mike are both mentioned in a previous post to the blog site, one of the earliest posts in fact, going all the way back to April 2007.
So it all just goes to show what a small world it really is though that doesn't help to explain why a Labour council - yes a Labour council - would introduce an incentive pay scheme or a bonus scheme for those at the top, as I think it should be called.
Especially one that rewards only the most senior council officials and appears to exclude the vast majority of the workforce - many of whom are very low paid of course - and many of whom are still fighting for equal pay.
No wonder people are so cynical about politics and politicans these days and that includes the politics of local government.
