Pause in Glasgow fire-and-rehire letters ends after talks break down

Glasgow City Council has said that a pause in the issuing of letters about fire-and-rehire plans to staff has ended after talks with a union broke down.

The council last week announced plans to sack 23,000 non-teaching staff, hiring them back on new contracts following a breakdown in talks with unions over a long-running equal pay dispute.

However, the plan was paused on Friday after an intervention from Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth.

Glasgow City Council claimed on Thursday that Unison was refusing to put the offer to its members in a ballot and said talks had broken down.

The council said that as a result the pause in the issuing of letters to Unison members has now ended, although it is working with the Unite and GMB unions to ensure that their members are not dismissed and reengaged.

Glasgow City council leader Councillor Ricky Bell said: “I’m deeply disappointed that, despite the Council putting a further year of pay protection on the table, Unison has once again chosen not to put this offer to its members.

“Taken together with the improvements made since August, this represents a package well over a hundred million in extra pay for our staff.

“We listened carefully throughout these negotiations and went the extra mile to address concerns and improve the offer.

“However, some of the remaining demands were simply unworkable.

“In particular, proposals for additional allowances would in fact have had a detrimental impact on some employees.

“We had paused the issue of letters to our staff to allow space for further discussion.

“Although Unison’s actions bring that pause to an end, we are working with Unite and GMB to ensure that their members are not dismissed and reengaged.

“We will have detailed discussions with these unions from Thursday morning to finalise these details.

“I am disappointed that Unison members have been denied the opportunity to have their say on a deal which would have delivered significant improvements for many employees, additional protections for those facing detriment, and a clear route to finally ending pay discrimination in Glasgow.

“This is an understandably difficult and uncertain time for staff, and support will continue to be available through the Council for those directly affected by this decision.”