Glasgow City Council has suspended plans to dismiss and rehire its entire non-teaching workforce following intervention from the Scottish Government and trade unions.

Glasgow City Council has agreed to pause a controversial plan to fire and rehire more than 23,000 staff members. The decision follows emergency talks between the SNP-led council, the Scottish Government, and three major trade unions—GMB, Unison, and Unite. The move halts the issuance of dismissal letters that were intended to force new contracts on employees as part of a long-running dispute over equal pay.

Background of the Pay Dispute

The dispute centers on the council's efforts to replace a pay and grading system that was previously found to discriminate against a workforce comprised mostly of women. While the council stated that the proposed changes would leave the majority of staff unaffected or better off, the plan would have resulted in pay cuts for 11% of the workforce. Negotiations had initially broken down on Thursday, prompting the council to announce that all non-teaching staff would be dismissed and rehired under new contracts effective January 1.

Government and Union Intervention

Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth chaired the talks, stating that the Scottish Government does not support 'fire and rehire' schemes and expects all parties to adhere to the principles of fair work. Following the intervention, the council agreed to put an Acas-brokered package back on the table. The Scottish Trades Unions Congress, representing the three involved unions, welcomed the reversal, noting that meaningful negotiations are scheduled to resume early next week to reach a collective agreement.