Glasgow Council refuses UNISON attempt to resolve Community Service strike

For immediate release
Date: Thu 16 April 2009


Offenders sentenced to Community Service in Glasgow, are still sitting at home following the refusal of the City Council to involve ACAS in the fourteen-week long Community Service Supervisors dispute. The 21 UNISON members have been on strike since 6 January, following the refusal of the Council to pay them the right rate for the job. Despite attempts by UNISON to refer the dispute to conciliation, Glasgow City Council has refused to discuss the dispute with ACAS

UNISON Branch Secretary Brian Smith accused Glasgow City Council of treating the striking workers with "contempt".

He said: "Glasgow City Council has refused to formally involve ACAS as a third party, which we requested in an effort to resolve this dispute. We have waited six months for information on how the Council evaluated these jobs, yet they have refused to even answer basic questions. The Council is trying hard to make this a "forgotten strike".

"Meanwhile, the pay grades of council senior managers who faced wages cuts have all been sorted in the last few weeks. It's as if there is one rule for the bosses and another for the workers. Now we hear that private agencies are in discussions with the Council as part of the so-called 'service reform' to deliver some of the services which our members provide.

"The contempt with which Glasgow City Council has treated the Community Service Supervisors is unbelievable. Our members perform a vital service and they now feel as if they are being victimised by the Council for pursuing a legitimate claim. After fourteen weeks of strike action, our members remain determined to win their dispute."

ends

Note for editors:
The 21 Community Service Supervisors in Glasgow oversee offenders working in the community. The City Council’s refusal to settle the strike has meant that this important alternative to prison in Glasgow has been suspended since the strike began on 6 January 2009.

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