Council staff receive millions in equal pay settlement
10 July 2019
The first equal pay settlements have begun following a deal that was struck for thousands of Glasgow city council workers.
The dispute was one which lasted around a decade but a £548m deal to compensate for years of unequal pay was eventually made earlier this year and thousands of public sector workers are now to begin to benefit.
The deal covers payments to settle up to 16,000 equal pay claims, which was agreed with UNISON, the GMB and the Action for Equality law firm. The vast majority of those are women working in caring, catering and cleaning across the city, although the figure does include a small number of men, including 300 janitors.
The agreement represents compensation for the pay lost due to a discriminatory pay and grading system in place for over 12 years.
Glasgow city council recently finalised a funding deal with Legal & General which has enabled them to make the first batch of payments to claimants. The deal will see Legal & General invest £285m in the city over 30 years, refinancing the council’s existing property portfolio.
Council leader, Susan Aitken, said:
“This is a hugely significant step forward for the council and the city as a whole. This deal not only means we can meet our responsibilities on equal pay – but do so while safeguarding the future of the city’s property assets in public use.”
The council is on track to sign two more funding deals during summer recess to finance the rest of the settlement.