Union members call on a Scottish council to settle outstanding equal pay claims they argue are being delayed because of a lack of ‘political will’.
GMB Scotland organised a protest in North Lanarkshire yesterday to demand the local authority compensate 2000 female workers for past discriminatory pay practices.
The council has already paid out £100m in equal pay claims but, GMB Scotland argues, many more council employees are entitled to compensation.
‘The only thing stopping these women from getting the money they deserve, the money that they worked for, that belongs to them, is the political will to do so,’ Hazel Nolan, GMB regional organiser, said.
Women working across the public sector have, historically, been paid less than their male counterparts for doing comparable jobs, so equal pay claims have been introduced to make up for this.
Many councils—most famously, Birmingham City Council—have been hit by these claims, which have added an extra burden to already squeezed budgets.
In January this year, Fife Council faced a potential £50m equal pay claim which, it argued, would have a ‘significant impact’ on its finances.
Speaking to the Daily Record, council home support worker Sandra Barron said: ‘I am being discriminated by my employers North Lanarkshire Council.
‘In May/ June 2015, hundreds of my female-co workers received their Equal Pay settlement as ruled by the courts. To date I and around 500 other female employees have not received any of our Equal Pay Entitlement.’
‘The council leader for North Lanarkshire, Cllr Jim Logue, and his fellow Councillors are in a position to sort this out immediately,’ GMB’s Ms Nolan said.
‘The only thing stopping these women from getting the money they deserve, the money that they worked for, that belongs to them, is the political will to do so.’
‘Some of these women have died waiting and now their families are still waiting for the council to give them back their money,’ she added.
A spokesperson for the council said the delay was because they had to confirm the legitimacy of the remaining claims.
‘Both the council leader and depute leader have made it clear that the council will settle equal pay claims where these are justified,’ they explained.
‘All new claims have to be checked for accuracy before payments can be made.’
The spokesperson added that the council and deputy leader would meet with representatives from GMB next week to seek a solution to the issue.
