UNIONS will protest outside Glasgow City Chambers tomorrow demanding that the local authority rejects plans that would see thousands of workers face immediate pay cuts of up to £10,000.

Unison, Unite and GMB will call on the City Administration Committee to vote against the council’s pay and grading proposals at a meeting this morning to prevent “catastrophic impact on workers’ lives and on service delivery to the most vulnerable in the city.”

They want councillors to urgently seek more funding from the Scottish government and commit to further negotiations instead.

The unions also warned going forward with the new scheme could risk equal pay claims as workers are already owed wages from being underpaid in the current scheme. 

These include low-paid predominantly female staff, they say, adding “early indications suggest that workers not included in the initial cohort will face wider and deeper financial detriment.”

They also accused the authority of threatening to use “fire and rehire” tactics that have caused widespread disruption in Birmingham City Council.

Unison Glasgow City branch secretary Chris Sermanni said: “If our elected members are serious about equal pay, then they must reject these proposals out of hand and commit to further investment in the ongoing pay bill and implementation costs.  

“Without this additional investment, the new pay and grading structure will devastate the lives of workers and their families, as well as the services provided to the people of Glasgow.

“They must learn from mistakes made in the past and understand that equal pay cannot be delivered cheaply. We need politicians who will stand up for what the city needs.”

Unite convener Eddie Cassidy said: “Unite have made our feelings very clear that we are not satisfied with the council’s proposals for equal pay.

“Unite believes that these proposals, as they stand, fail to provide guarantees to groups of workers, including low paid females, who have been underpaid for years, they will also cause further division within the workforce and could potentially lead to further litigation claims being brought against Glasgow City Council.

“Unite appeals to the elected members not to turn our city into another Birmingham and to reject the councils’ proposals on the new pay and grading structure.”

The council was contacted for comment.