Unison sets up hardship fund for Glasgow strikers

Unison has set up a hardship fund for over 550 Glasgow Council social care workers who have now been on strike for three weeks.

The group overwhelmingly rejected a council offer to settle their dispute over job grading last week and Unison said many of the social care workers – who effectively work as social work assistants – would now be facing hardship.

Meanwhile, Unison and fellow unions GMB and Unite have demanded a meeting with communities secretary Hazel Blears over the failure to reach a pay settlement for council workers in England and Wales, including social care staff.

The unions are threatening to ballot their members for industrial action unless Local Government Employers, which represents local authorities in industrial relations, improves its 2% pay offer.

The unions claimed that LGE had requested more time to see if they could improve on the offer at a meeting last week.

GMB national secretary for local government Brian Strutton said: “We are sick to death of council leaders unable to make up their minds what to do about their workers pay – 1.4 million low-paid employees deserve more respect than this. We have had to put plans for industrial action into place but we want to try to avoid that. That is why we are asking Hazel Blears to bash heads together.”

Related information

Unions escalate pay row with employers

Glasgow social care assistants to strike over job grades