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Solidarity with Glasgow Daycare Workers |
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Over 200 strikers and supporters took part in a noisy demo at Glasgow City Chambers yesterday, as the strike action by daycare workers entered it's third week.
Despite the council refusing to concede the central demands, the strikers remain solid and have confidence in their cause with wide support. Brian Smith, a UNISON secretary in Glasgow and Solidarity member stressed the importance of support:
"Collections have been very succesful with over £7,000 raised so far. The UNISON branch has also agreed to match the national strike pay. This was a real boost to members but the strikers need continued support."
Messages of support and donations to Glasgow Unison Branch, 18 Albion St, Glasgow. Email is
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Solidarity offers 110% support to striking daycare workers. Once again Unison members in Glasgow are using the only weapon that the City Council understand - industrial muscle. Eighty-four per cent of members voted to take strike action in the recent ballot. This excellent vote demonstrates the anger felt and the desire to take industrial action.
Daycare workers have been allocated to the wrong role profiles/grades under the Council's Workforce Pay and Benefits Review. No objective application of the job evaluation scheme could come up with the current allocations for the range of posts across these services. Most workers in these services are also in pay detriment, and whist their pay is protected at the moment, it is unacceptable that the Council have failed to recognise the valuable job these workers undertake with some of the most vulnerable members in our society. The Council had the opportunity to correct its mistake at the Review hearings. They failed to take it. The Council's rules not the workers.
The Council have offered to resolve the dispute by reforming the services including reducing the number of DSWs, altering the remits of most workers and cutting the number of Centres. The Council claim this will allow them to increase community based provision by increasing the number of support workers whilst at the same time offering all other workers either new posts at a higher role profile (grade), new jobs out with daycare services or voluntary redundancy. The Council's offer is short on detail, and with the strike demand being to secure a fair role profile that reflects what workers currently do, it was clear that members would vote at the last mass meeting to continue with the strike action.
The focus must now be on building a solid strike with regular members meetings at which any new offers from the Council can be debated and voted on.
Positive links have been made with carers organisations and service users in the run up to the strike and will be an important factor in determining the outcome of the dispute as the Council attempt to drive a wedge between the workers who provide the services and those who rely on them.
Daycare workers are happy to improve the support for service users. However daycare workers, carers and service users all know that a better service is not built by downgrading workers' wages.
Over the last year other members have won important concessions and victories from the Council by threatening or taking strike action. It has been shown that strike action works and whilst each dispute is different it is clear that another success can be achieved if members hold strong and have confidence in their cause. Solidarity will always be on the side of council workers against hard-nosed employers like Glasgow City Council. |
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