Birmingham care workers win equal pay case
Care workers at Birmingham Council were among the nearly 5,000 women who learnt they had won their claims for equal pay to men this week.
The women launched a legal challenge to the council over bonus payments, which allowed male employees to earn more than £50,000 a year.
Of the complainants, 1,200 were represented by Stefan Cross Solicitors and the rest by unions Unison and GMB.
Paul Doran, from the solicitors, said about a quarter of their clients in the case worked in care.
‘This is a massive victory for these women who have fought long and hard to have the simple principle of equal pay for work of equal value acknowledged,’ he said.
‘The fact that Birmingham Council simply failed to acknowledge that it had a problem should act as a warning to other local authorities who continue to deny their female employees their basic rights.’
An employment tribunal on Tuesday [April 27] agreed that bonus payments made to men employed in jobs such as refuse collectors, street cleaners and road workers was discriminatory.
They had received up to 159 per cent of their basic pay – one refuse collector took home almost £51,000 – and the women on the same grade received less than £12,000.
Mr Doran said the win meant a grade 4 care assistant working 20 hours a week could expect to receive more than £100,000.
Dave Prentis, Unison’s general secretary, said: ‘This money would have been better spent on providing vital local services, many of which are facing damaging cuts.’
Brian Strutton, the GMB’s national secretary, said: ‘We’ve been fighting for equal pay rights for our members in councils for years and one of the worst offenders has been Conservative-led Birmingham Council.’
Councillor Alan Rudge, cabinet member for equalities and human resources at Birmingham Council said: ‘The issue that was considered by the employment tribunal relates to the old pay and grading structure – in particular the outdated bonus systems.
‘In 2007, we took positive action to remove the inappropriate bonus schemes and implemented a revised pay and grading structure, which falls within the equal opportunity commission’s equality guidelines and was endorsed through an independent external audit.’
The council is looking at whether there are grounds for appeal, he added.
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Steve | 29/04/2010 4:47 pm
One wonders if Birmingham's pay structure was given a clean bill of health by the Audit Commission at some point?
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