Glasgow strike gains fair grade for social care workers

by Brian Smith, Glasgow City Branch Social Wrk Steward

After 20 days of all out indefinite strike, over 600 Glasgow social care workers have won a clear victory in their dispute with the city council.

Most of the 600 workers who manage the cases for children at risk and vulnerable adults and offenders, assess needs, monitor the services that support the person or family, and report to the Children's Panel, courts and formal Community Care Reviews, will now be graded as Role Profile 5 on return to work, instead of the council's evaluation of Role Profile 4.

A handful of recently recruited workers will gain this wage in the next year or so. For almost 400 workers, including the new starts, the deal means a wage increase of between £1,000 and £2,400 immediately. Around 200 workers who were on protected wages as part of the overall Pay and Benefits Review will now see their pay consolidated, removing the need for pay protection. Other issues such as progression, qualifications and differences in duties between the bottom and top of the role will be negotiated over the next few months.

A mass meeting on 10 August voted more than three to one in favour of accepting what was the council's third offer of the dispute. The first two offers were beneficial for smaller numbers of the staff than the third offer, but the desire to stick together and gain the same rate for the same duties were the driving forces of the dispute. Members stood and applauded together after the vote.

There was a real sense of unity at the end of the meeting. Mike Kirby, Convenor of Glasgow City Branch, said: "The solidarity of the members on strike was instrumental in delivering the key objective that they sought. They have a right to be satisfied with the outcome of their action."

The deal represents a clear victory against a hard nosed employer. The council rejected the workers original case at review and threatened to use anti-trade union laws against the original strategy of "working to role profile". They forced the strike but completely misjudged the mood of the workers and the support they recieved from the rest of the workforce.

The threat to pull out a further 1,000 workers, also played a role in moving the council. There are many lessons from this dispute. Firstly, the justice of the members case was clearly articulated throughout the dispute, motivating members and giving them a clear aim.

Secondly, the branch and the stewards committee communicated well with members before and during the dispute using emails, postal mailings, the branch website and the daily meeting of a strike organising committee.

Thirdly, activities kept members going. The 11am meetings allowed members to organise street collections and lobbies, assist at workplaces that needed help with picket lines, plan publicity work, etc.

Most crucial were the mass meetings. Every Tuesday and Friday, these ensured members met to consider the council's offers, re-energise themselves and of course, determine how the dispute developed.

The strike was a success on many fronts. The stewards, the branch, and the wider union must use the gains made to build for future action, strengthen the union at its base by recruiting new members and stewards, and encourage even more members to play a role in the democratic running of their trade union.

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