The leader of Birmingham City Council has urged trade unions to engage in talks over fresh equal pay disputes – rather than ballot staff over potential strike action.
Cllr Ian Ward today urged the GMB union: ‘To get around the table and resolve this matter as quickly as possible.’
Birmingham faces a potential fresh wave of equal pay claims from women after it emerged that there are potential discrepancies in the way some council jobs have been evaluated historically.
In 2012, Birmingham said it would have to pay at least £757m to settle equal pay claims brought by mostly women who had missed out on bonuses, and it is believed the council has actually paid out more than £1bn.
But the GMB says ‘significant new information’ has emerged about how the authority evaluated staff roles. The union has advised members not to settle unresolved cases, and is threatening a ballot over potential strikes in what has been an already-disrupted summer across the public services.
The fresh problem with equal pay appears to have emerged following a recent employment tribunal, which the union believes uncovered further historical disparities between roles traditionally held by men and women.
GMB regional organiser, Michelle McCrossen, said she believed ‘thousands of workers’ could be affected and that female staff had again been underpaid.
‘We've been made aware of some documents where Birmingham City Council have conceded that their job evaluation cannot be relied upon. It's the scheme that everybody goes through…and it's supposed to eradicate any discrimination between male-dominated roles and female-dominated roles. It's our belief that there have been some male-dominated roles that are still being inflated,’ she explained.
A Birmingham City Council spokesperson said: ‘The council has been engaging with GMB on matters of equal pay since November 2021, and have already agreed a new approach to job evaluation. The council would encourage GMB to explore solutions working together, as it is committed to resolving historic equal pay issues, and has already settled with the majority of trade union members following a previous agreement.’
