A plan to dismiss and re-engage up to 25,000 staff at Glasgow City Council has been officially paused following a last-minute intervention by the Scottish Government.
The “fire and rehire” strategy, which was due to see dismissal notices sent out to the majority of the council’s non-teaching workforce during the week of 28 September 2026, was halted on Friday. The move came after Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth intervened to facilitate fresh talks between the local authority and trade unions.
The dispute centres on a long-running equal pay claim and the council’s efforts to replace a 2006 pay grading system that was found to discriminate against female workers. While the council maintains the new structure is necessary to ensure pay equity, negotiations reached a standstill when the trade union Unison withdrew its support.
Impact on the Workforce
The proposed new contracts were scheduled to take effect from 1 January 2027. The process would have affected almost all non-teaching staff, ranging from refuse collectors and nursery workers to the council’s chief executive.
Under the proposed structure:
- The majority of staff would see their pay increase or remain the same.
- Approximately 11% of the workforce—around 2,000 employees—would face a reduction in pay.
Glasgow City Council previously accused Unison of “betraying” its members by walking away from the deal, while the union described the council’s narrative as “misleading” and “false.” Two other major unions, GMB and Unite, had indicated they were prepared to ballot their members on the proposal before the talks collapsed.
The Equal Pay Dispute
The current crisis is the latest chapter in a multi-year equal pay saga that has cost the city hundreds of millions of pounds. According to The Herald, the intervention by the Scottish Government is intended to provide a “breathing space” for all parties to return to the negotiating table.
The council is currently navigating a significant financial challenge, with a reported budget gap of approximately £110 million. Any final settlement regarding the pay and grading structure will be critical to the authority’s long-term financial stability.
Negotiations between council officials and union representatives are expected to resume early next week. For now, the threat of immediate dismissal notices has been removed, though the deadline for implementing a new pay system by early 2027 remains a primary objective for the local authority.
