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500 care workers stage strike rally
 
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Workers hold an unofficial rally in George Square after the council refused their request for a demo Picture: Mark Gibson
Workers hold an unofficial rally in George Square after the council refused their request for a demo Picture: Mark Gibson
 

HUNDREDS of striking social care workers in Glasgow today staged a massive unofficial rally.

Around 500 defiant staff gathered at lunchtime in George Square after council chiefs refused their request to hold a demonstration.

The move came as the strike, over controversial gradings and pay structures, entered its second week.

Public sector union Unison said the high turnout reflected the solid support for the dispute among the social care staff in Glasgow City Council.

Unison social work secretary Brian Smith said: "The City Chambers is the place to come to show your displeasure towards Glasgow City Council. However, the council said we had not given them enough notice and our request to stage a demonstration was turned down.

"We decided to try and get all our members to meet in George Square for lunch.

"Hopefully the level of support that we have seen today will send another clear message to the council."

Social care worker Jackie Ritchie said: "We felt it was important to come today. We all do valuable jobs and it's time that was recognised."

And Tricia Billsland from Baillieston added: "I have worked in social work for 30 years and I'm absolutely disgusted by what's happening.

"I'm losing about £1000 a year. It's breach of promise."

Union leaders and council chiefs were meeting again this afternoon in the latest bid to resolve the dispute, which has disrupted lifeline services for pensioners, youngsters and drug addicts.

Publication date 30/07/07
Posted by: ex labour voter on 10:20pm Mon 30 Jul 07
TOTALY AGREE.It is a well known fact GCC are led from the top by selfseeking incompetant labour party mouthpeices . The glasga folk voted this shower back in so they deserve all that the labour mafia throw at them.
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Posted by: ex labour voter, glasgow on 10:24pm Mon 30 Jul 07
Labour do not represent the people that were daft enough to vote them back in.
When is glasgow going to wake up to the fact that gcc are run by selfseeking under acheivers who have not had a job in the real world.
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Posted by: J E Isacon, Cornwall on 12:09pm Tue 31 Jul 07
Why is Unison still donating substantial funds to the Labour Party when the Government seeks to impose a below-inflation pay rise on its Local Government and Health Service members and Labour councils like Glasgow seek to impose swingeing pay cuts on members who are already low paid? If the union won't stop the payments, members should opt out of contributing to its political fund.

When is Unison HQ going to admit that Single Status, particularly in Scotland, has been an absolute disaster for many of its members because it is partly funded through pay cuts in the absence of central funding. The union, at least South of the border, promised that "nobody should lose" in the unscientific pay reviews, but thousands of workers are suffering cuts of a life-altering magnitude.

I have yet to hear Heather Wakefield, Unison's Head of Public Services, condemn the pay cuts. She seems to spend most of her time complaining about the failure of councils to complete pay reviews when many are reluctant to do so because of the enormous cost and the damage they cause. Morale, employment relations and goodwill usually suffer, and stress-related sickness levels often increase, to the detriment of services.

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Posted by: Caazza, East End on 4:30pm Wed 1 Aug 07
It is unbelieveable that GCC allowed a member of staff who helped identify the new job profiles, to retire, only to allow him to return as a consultant to the appeals process. He is reviewing something that he intially made a mess of (which led to this strike) and is allegedly getting paid a substantial amount on a daily basis to hear the appeals.He is the one that participated in making a mess of the job profiles in the first place. How is that an independent review/appeal? What a waste of public money?
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