More than 800 women have now lodged claims against Dundee City Council amid a long-running equal pay battle.
GMB Union members hope to receive thousands of pounds in compensation for years of alleged lost earnings, as well as ensuring the local authority ends what they say are discriminatory pay policies.
The union claims the women have been discriminated against “every day” and to mark International Women’s Day on Tuesday March 8, have now revealed hundreds of workers have so far filed claims.
More claims expected to be lodged
GMB representative Helen Meldrum says she believes the claims only “scratch the surface”.
She said: “We have lodged over 800 claims so far, but thousands of workers will not be aware they are being actively discriminated against every working day, and that they have a right to make a claim.
“The council’s response has been to bury its head in the sand, but it cannot escape this because its liabilities are increasing every working hour the discriminatory pay agreements remain in place, and this will be confronted either through negotiation or industrial action.”
‘Systematically underpaid’
The workers claim they have been systematically underpaid throughout their careers because they work in job sectors dominated by women.
Their case centres on the council’s use of “craft agreements” in jobs often dominated by men, such as joiners and bricklayers.
These agreements include a scheme in which workers are paid both productivity bonuses and fixed bonuses every month for simply attending work.
Sectors such as care, cleaning and catering, mostly staffed by women, are not entitled to such bonuses.
The action also includes those employed through the council’s arms-length external organisations (ALEOS) such as Leisure & Culture Dundee and Tayside Contracts.
Claims of discrimination gained momentum last year when testimony from support staff at Kingspark Primary was shared with councillors.
One supporter named Angela said she felt her quality of life would have been higher had she received the same rate of pay as men employed by the local authority.
Cost of living crisis concerns
Ms Meldrum added: “People should be angry, and the council should be ashamed that low-paid key workers like carers and school support staff, people our politicians applauded on the doorsteps, are being cheated out of thousands of pounds in earnings because they are not valued equally.
“And with a growing cost of living crisis that could well turn into a catastrophe for the lowest paid workers and their families, if ever there was a right time for the council to recognise and start resolving this scandal, then it’s now.”
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.”
