Glasgow City Council Proposes Pay Plan to End Equal Pay Dispute

The Glasgow City Council is seeking approval for a new pay and grading structure scheduled for April 2026 to resolve a decades-long equal pay dispute. The proposal replaces an 11-band salary system with 12 bands and involves approximately £170 million in backdated payments and £65 million for upcoming wages. The council has already spent roughly £770 million on the issue, funded through a property sale and lease-back arrangement.

Under the new plan, the council states that 89% of staff will see earnings increase or remain stable. However, detailed projections indicate that while 65% of workers will receive a pay increase, 11% will see their wages reduced and 24% will experience little to no change. To mitigate these losses, the council has proposed six months of pay protection.

Council leader Susan Aitken described the deal as the end of years of intense work to address gender-based pay inequality and a necessary step to protect the council from future litigation. Conversely, the Joint Trade Unions—comprising GMB, UNISON, and Unite—argue the plan fails to deliver a fair outcome. Union representatives claim thousands of workers, particularly in female-dominated roles, face significant financial loss and that the pay protection is inadequate. The unions have organized protests outside the City Chambers to urge the City Administration Committee to reject the proposals and demand further investment.