Dumbarton Reporter | Opinion | Support for speech

Wednesday, 9th July, 2008

Published: Tuesday, 12th February, 2008 09:45

Support for speech

I AM writing with regards to an item in last week’s Reporter (February 5) regarding an apology that councillor Jim Bollan had to make.

I was not at the full meeting of West Dunbartonshire Council (WDC) last week, so I am assuming the document concerned is the one that all WDC employees received regarding negotiations dealing with the council’s statuatory responsibilities to meet equal pay.

The document is not titled West Dunbartonshire Council nor has it been signed off, I wonder why?

When I received the document and read it, it definitely came across as a bully tactic to me and every other council employee I have spoken to feels the same.

Whoever wrote this document is holding a gun to all WDC employees’ heads that are entitled to backdated equal pay from April 2006.

The equal pay settlement should have been completed ages ago but WDC dragged its feet on this and now it has a cheek to threaten, yes threaten, its employees with imposing new terms and conditions with no back pay by serving a 90-day notice to all employees.

I also wonder how much interest has been accrued on this money.

WDC should give any interest to a local charity as it should not be able to benefit from withholding employees’ back pay.

Councillor Bollan is entitled to say that the document could be construed as blackmail and bullying as this is the way he read it, as did I and other WDC employees.

I did not know that WDC has put a ban on freedom of speech and it should not forget so easily the points raised by Audit Scotland on in-house bullying within council departments.

No matter what WDC’s legal officer states, we are all entitled to express how we read into things.

I wonder what would have been the opinion of Audit Scotland had it read the document — oh there is a thought.

Name and address supplied

Comments