Dundee City Council risk paying out millions of pounds in settlements as over 1,000 women lodge equal pay claims, a trade union has claimed.
The GMB union say they are representing over 1,000 women in and around Dundee with potential claims and have been urging the local authority to open negotiations for three years.
It’s claimed women employed by the council and its arm’s length external organisations have lost out on thousands of pounds each in earnings because of an unsound pay agreement.
The pay structure, GMB says, gave bonuses to workers in predominantly male roles such as plumbers and electricians while ignoring mainly female roles in care and educational support.
‘Eventually every council will have to settle’
Cara Stevenson, GMB Scotland organiser, said the eventual cost to Dundee City Council will only rise if the issue is not tackled with “urgency, transparency and fairness”.
She said: “The council in Dundee should not imagine for a moment that these claims are going away if it sticks its head in the sand long enough.
“Dragging its heels and attempting to postpone the inevitable will only increase the cost and generate ill-will and risk the trust of workers.
“These unfair, discriminatory practices against women workers were in place to a greater or lesser extent in every local authority in the country and, eventually, every one of them will be forced to settle.”
Equal pay claims have dogged local authorities across the U.K in recent years.
Earlier this week, Birmingham City Council announced they were effectively bankrupt after revealing it has to pay up to £760m to settle these cases.
And last year, Glasgow City Council agreed to pay £770m in settlements after facing a barrage of claims.
Council ‘will not avoid responsibilities’
Ms Stevenson said Dundee City Council should “bite the bullet” and settle the claims lodged against them or risk millions of pounds to its final bill.
She added: “They can make that process shorter by biting the bullet and facing their responsibilities or they can add even more legal costs and inflict more harm and uncertainty on women staff by dragging it out but they will not avoid their responsibilities.
“Dundee City Council need to do the right thing – the sensible thing – and start talking to us and to the women owed substantial sums of money because of unfair discrimination in its workplaces.”
A Dundee City Council spokesperson said: “A number of equal pay claims have been raised against Dundee City Council in the employment tribunal.
“These cases are at an early stage and it would not be appropriate for the council to comment further in the meantime.”
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