West Dunbartonshire Council which has a reputation for victimisation and bullying, compensation for which is currently estimated to be heading towards £1 million in just one case, were accused today by the powerful GMB trade union of intimidating care workers prior to them taking part in a strike on April 10 and 11.
The GMB have posted a message to the care workers in Dumbarton, Vale of Leven and Clydebank which states: “This is a message of solidarity to all care@home members who will be taking industrial action on Wednesday the 10th and Thursday the 11th of April.
“It is an uncetain time for all GMB members, many of whom will be taking industrial action for the first time.
“If all members stay together during this dispute there is a very real chance that you will be victorious in this dispute.
“GMB have already been made aware of organisers and managers calling members and intimidating them by asking if they are working or intend to work [on the days set aside for the industrial action] and pulling at the heartstrings of members.”
Care workers look after elderly and vulnerable people and and have close relationships with their clients to whom they are usually very attached.
One highly valued and respected Dumbarton care worker died during the covid pandemic.
The GMB messsage adds: “GMB believe this is unacceptable behaviour by West Dunbartonshire Council.
“During any dispute, both the trade unions and management have to stick to the rules and follow the guidance and honour them.”
The trade union said they would be abiding by these rules and would honour them.
The Council’s behaviour however was unfortunately “unprecedented” .
In a rallying call to members, the message added: “Solidarity to all GMB members. We wil see you all on Wednesday and Thursday at at Church Street and Clydebank Health Centre between 8am and 10am.”
West Dunbartonshire is one of three Scottish council areas where the matter has come to a head this week.
The row concerns whether the pay in jobs mostly done by women is equivalent to the pay in jobs deemed to be of equal value which are mostly done by men.
The GMB union warned that councillors “have their heads in the sand” over the matter, and that if it is not resolved soon then there will be a “disastrous” impact on communities.
The issue regarding equal pay in councils has been running for several years.
Some councils, including Glasgow, are in the process of settling claims that run into hundreds of millions of pounds.
However, the GMB say other councils are not acting quickly enough, amongst fears the cost of settling the claims could lead to more cuts in services.
Louise Gilmour, GMB Scotland secretary, has written to First Minister Humza Yousaf urging him to support the creation of a new specialist body to decide on equal pay claims across the country.
A Scottish government spokesperson said: “Councils are responsible for meeting their legal obligations to their employees, including on equal pay.
“In the face of a profoundly challenging financial situation, the Scottish government is making available record funding of more than £14bn to councils in 2024-25 – a real-terms increase of 2.5% compared with the previous year.”
The GMB’s Louise Gilmour claimed that councils were “approaching equal pay claims like the Titanic approaching the iceberg.”
She added: “The scale of these claims are unimaginable for local authorities already being forced to cut services.
“Women who have been underpaid for far too long will still win these claims, however, and, unless that process is properly managed now, the impact on our councils and the communities they serve could be disastrous.”
The union has claimed that some workers are paid only £12.70 an hour and that their employers have rejected the union’s appeal against a refusal to upgrade their jobs.
They will be hoping that their Care and Support at Home service will “operate on a reduced capacity” during the strike, but that depends on how many carers will take part in the industrial action..