Glasgow council concedes over pay grading

Homelessness caseworkers force Glasgow council to concede pay grading principle

Matt Dobson

The all-out indefinite strike by Glasgow’s homelessness caseworkers for fair pay – now in its tenth week – has pushed an anti-union Labour council management to concede the principle that the caseworkers should be on pay grade six.

However the regrade offered by the council would only cover two thirds of the strikers. Socialist Party Scotland supports the argument that this current offer should be rejected and the strike should continue.

The management have been pushed back from their original position, which was that the caseworkers had no case for a regrade. The council made their first real offer on 29 May.

Management rushed to put this offer together. Days before they maintained that there would be nothing on the table until the end of June.

This achievement has been due to the strike remaining absolutely solid with the fantastic commitment of all strikers and the leadership of the Unison union branch.

Labour funding

The impact on the homeless service and the political pressure exerted by calling for all payments to the Labour Party to be suspended has pushed the council into this retreat.

With this offer the council are testing the resolve of the strike. The best way to respond to the test is to continue keeping the strike solid with full participation at the daily pickets, meetings with other social work staff and lobbying of councillors to demand all workers are regraded.