Key Points
- Council Pay Scheme Fallout: Glasgow City Council’s revised pay and grading scheme has left multiple school support workers feeling deeply undervalued, with some reduced to tears after discovering their wages will remain unchanged or face reductions.
- Impact on Staff: Angela Mallon, a health and wellbeing and support for learning worker in the city’s West End, expressed anger and disappointment after opening a letter confirming no pay rise, despite handling complex personal care and challenging behaviour.
- Union Reaction: UNISON Scotland education convenor Sylvia Haughney criticized the proposals, stating that cutting pay or failing to reward staff properly during an escalating crisis of school violence and living costs adds insult to injury.
- Council Stance: Glasgow City Council stated that the new scheme aims to resolve historic equal pay discrimination, ensuring over 85% of evaluated employees see pay increases while committing to protect the minority facing losses temporarily until April 2028.
Glasgow (Glasgow Express) September 16, 2026 — As reported by Lauren Brownlie, Audience and Content Editor of the Glasgow Times, two deflated Glasgow school workers have described feeling profoundly let down by the council’s new pay scheme, with both reduced to tears due to feeling heavily underappreciated.
Angela Mallon provides one-to-one support for children, including personal care, in her role as a health and wellbeing worker at a primary school situated in the city’s West End. The 50-year-old worker, who received training via the NHS, explained that her daily responsibilities involve far more than many people outside the profession assume, requiring high levels of trust, compassion, patience, and professional skill. Alongside her primary focus, she is also employed as a support for learning worker (SFLW). Having initially anticipated a fair pay rise that reflected her strenuous duties, she was instead left crying with anger after opening an official notification letter informing her that her pay would remain completely unchanged.
As reported by Lauren Brownlie of the Glasgow Times, Angela Mallon stated that:
“We are so undervalued, so underpaid, it’s absolutely ridiculous. I was one of the last ones to get my letter, and to be honest, my heart was telling me for the job that I do, I’m going to get more money. I’m getting absolutely nothing. Glasgow City Council (GCC) has put a lot of money into George Square which is absolutely ridiculous when you’ve got workers like us that are working our backsides off for buttons.”
How are increasing daily classroom challenges impacting staff morale?
Elaborating further on the ground realities inside mainstream classrooms, Angela Mallon highlighted that increasing numbers of children with additional support needs (ASN) are being integrated into mainstream educational environments, which consequently places mounting emotional and physical demands on school staff.
As reported by Lauren Brownlie of the Glasgow Times, Angela Mallon revealed the toll of her working environment, stating that:
“I’ve been bit, I’ve been hit, I’ve been punched.”
Despite these extreme workplace hazards, another anonymous colleague, referred to as Marie by the publication, also became emotional during discussions regarding her future in the profession. Marie noted that she is now at a stage where she might be forced to look for alternative employment.
As reported by Lauren Brownlie of the Glasgow Times, Marie stated that:
“I don’t want to, but I just feel totally undervalued, so unappreciated. I’m so sad, I’m gutted. We’ll need to see what happens; it won’t stop me loving my job in the meantime, but unfortunately the living costs are going up, and I’ve got a family of my own; it’s crunch time now.”
Angela Mallon further added that the broader atmosphere is damaging overall workplace wellbeing, noting that staff sickness absences have risen as colleagues discuss mixed outcomes from the pay evaluation process. While some team members reported receiving minor increases, others faced stagnant pay or reductions, creating a fragmented and tense environment across school teams.
What is the position of trade unions regarding the local authority’s new structure?
Trade unions have expressed fierce opposition to the rollout and mechanics of the updated pay framework. Sylvia Haughney, UNISON Scotland’s education convenor, slammed the local authority’s approach during consultations with members.
As reported by Lauren Brownlie of the Glasgow Times, Sylvia Haughney stated that:
“UNISON met with our members in education last Thursday and SFLWs are understandably outraged by the council’s plans. These are workers who are doing an incredibly demanding job in conditions that are already unacceptable. UNISON has been campaigning for more than a year over the levels of violence in schools, urging the council to take this issue seriously and properly support the staff who deal with these challenges every day.”
Sylvia Haughney further emphasized that proposing financial stagnation or cuts for workers who already feel ignored by civic leadership adds insult to injury. She pointed out that while the grading adjustments were ostensibly formulated to fix historic equal pay inequalities, the resulting fallout appears to penalise vulnerable workforce segments.
How has Glasgow City Council responded to the criticism?
Defending the strategic implementation of the overhaul, a spokesperson for Glasgow City Council addressed the structural reasoning behind the adjustments. The local authority maintained that the previous pay and grading system was fundamentally discriminatory because it failed to consistently reward equal work with equal value.
As reported by Lauren Brownlie of the Glasgow Times, a council spokesperson stated that:
“GCC’s pay and grading scheme is discriminatory – it does not always reward equal work with equal pay. We need to replace it with a new scheme and last month we agreed we would do so in April 2027. When we do so, over 85% of our employees whose posts have been evaluated will see their pay increase. Although a minority of around 11% will face a loss, we recognise the impact that will have and have committed to protecting their pay until April 2028.”
Furthermore, the local authority stated that where staff members find themselves in financial detriment, the council remains dedicated to evaluating potential mitigations—such as service reform—without compromising the overall structural integrity of the newly designed evaluation framework.
Background of the particular development
The controversy surrounding Glasgow City Council’s new pay and grading framework stems from decades of structural gender inequality disputes within municipal employment. Historically, jobs predominantly held by female workers—such as school support, care, and administrative positions—were graded and compensated at lower structural levels compared to traditional male-dominated roles like refuse collection and manual trades. Following extensive legal challenges, industrial disputes, and thousands of equal pay claims, Glasgow City Council was forced to pay out hundreds of millions of pounds in settlements.
To permanently resolve these historic inequalities, the council initiated a comprehensive review of its entire job evaluation and grading system. However, modernising a massive municipal pay structure has proved immensely complex. While the local authority maintains that the updated matrix will elevate wages for the vast majority of evaluated staff, the transitional phase has created widespread anxiety. Frontline workers caught in benchmark roles—who are already grappling with intense post-pandemic classroom environments, rising student support needs, and a persistent cost-of-living crisis—find themselves caught in the crossfire of administrative restructuring.
Prediction
This ongoing development poses a significant threat to workforce stability across Glasgow’s educational sector, directly affecting local school children, parents, and support staff. If staff morale continues to plunge and experienced support assistants choose to leave the profession due to perceived disrespect and stagnant wages, mainstream schools will face severe staffing shortages. This brain drain will disproportionately impact vulnerable children with additional support needs who rely heavily on consistent, one-to-one mentorship and personal care.
Furthermore, with trade unions like UNISON intensifying their opposition, the discontent risks spilling over into coordinated industrial action. Any future strikes or coordinated work slowdowns by education support staff would severely disrupt daily school operations, placing additional pressure on teachers and forcing working parents to scramble for emergency childcare. Ultimately, unless Glasgow City Council bridges the communication gap and restores faith among its frontline personnel, the local authority risks deepening an institutional crisis that could destabilise the delivery of vital public services across the city.
