More than 500 GMB members at Kirklees Council have submitted claims over potential pay discrimination, with the union urging thousands more eligible workers to come forward.
The collective claim centres on pay disparities between refuse workers and roles traditionally carried out by women, including teaching assistants, catering staff and care workers.
Successful claimants could recover up to six years of back pay, with the total value potentially reaching millions of pounds.
GMB is encouraging anyone who believes they may be affected to check their eligibility and join the campaign.
What they said
GMB Organiser Tristan Chard said women at Kirklees Council had ‘been short-changed’ for too long, adding: ‘We believe hundreds more could still be eligible.’
He said every council worker was ‘entitled to fair pay’ and urged affected staff to come forward, pledging to ‘fight to recover every penny owed to our members.’
A spokesperson for Kirklees Council pointed out that this was an issue facing local government ‘more widely’.
‘As the matter is now subject to a formal legal process, it would not be appropriate to comment in detail on the specifics of the claims at this stage,’ they added.
'However, we remain committed to engaging positively with our trade union colleagues and will provide further updates when it is appropriate to do so.’
