Glasgow Council Threatens Mass Fire-and-Rehire Affecting 23,000 Workers
Talks between Glasgow's SNP-led council and three unions collapsed, triggering one of the UK's largest fire-and-rehire actions.
Glasgow City Council has begun issuing termination and reappointment letters to roughly 23,000 non-teaching staff, launching what could become one of the largest fire-and-rehire exercises in British history after pay negotiations with three major unions broke down this week.
The dispute centers on a proposed new pay and grading structure intended to address longstanding pay equality problems within the council workforce. While the council presented the framework as a remedy to historical inequities, the terms would leave 11% of affected employees earning less than they currently do.
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Unison, one of three unions involved alongside GMB and Unite, declined to put the council's offer to a membership vote, citing the prospective pay cuts. That refusal proved a breaking point, prompting council management to move forward with formal fire-and-rehire notices covering all non-teaching council staff.
The scale of the action has drawn sharp attention. Fire-and-rehire — the practice of dismissing employees and offering to rehire them under reduced terms — has faced growing political and legal scrutiny across the UK in recent years, with critics arguing it undermines workers' rights and collective bargaining. The Glasgow case, given the number of workers involved, stands among the most significant deployments of the tactic on record.
Negotiations between the SNP-led council and the unions had already experienced repeated setbacks before this week's collapse, suggesting the dispute could prove difficult to resolve quickly. Continue reading at Business | The Guardian.
