Glasgow City Council is preparing to dismiss more than 23,000 non-teaching employees and offer them new contracts after talks with trade unions over a revised pay and grading structure broke down.
According to BBC reporting, dismissal letters are expected to be issued next week, with replacement contracts due to take effect from January 1. The move follows failed negotiations with GMB, Unison and Unite over the proposed changes.
The dispute centres on a new pay and grading system developed after the council’s existing structure was found to discriminate against predominantly female workers. The council approved the revised framework last month following eight years of negotiations.
Under the proposed structure, the council estimates that 63% of affected employees would receive a pay increase, while around 90% would either receive a pay rise or see no reduction in pay. Around 11% could face pay cuts, with the largest annual reduction estimated at about £11,500.
The proposed dismissals would cover the council’s entire non-teaching workforce, including nursery staff, refuse workers and administrative employees. The council has said workers who accept the new contracts will retain continuity of service.
The authority has maintained that negotiations have reached an impasse. It said dismissal notices could still be withdrawn if all three unions agreed to ballot their members on the latest offer.
Unions, however, have criticised the use of dismissal and re-engagement as a means of implementing the changes. Unison Scotland described the move as a threat to workers and called for the notices to be withdrawn, while Unite also opposed the use of fire-and-rehire tactics.
The dispute follows a long-running equal-pay issue at the council. According to the BBC, Glasgow has paid around £770 million in settlements after female employees in roles such as cleaning and catering were found to have been paid less than workers in traditionally male-dominated occupations, including refuse collection.
The proposed grading system is intended to address those historical pay disparities, but its implementation has created a new dispute over how the financial impact of the reforms should be distributed among employees.
