Dundee Council managers’ “sex discrimination problem” may ultimately cost taxpayers tens of millions, a trade union has argued.
Members of the GMB Scotland union have submitted an equal pay claim over the local authority’s “discriminatory” policies, including those around bonuses.
They argue council employees in jobs mostly filled by men, such as building and maintenance, receive “higher bonuses and enhancements” than other positions with a largely female workforce.
‘I don’t get a bonus for serving meals’
School assistant cook Stephanie Smith, 42, said she and her colleagues were disappointed to discover they are not getting a fair deal.
She said: “I’m really angry. I don’t get a bonus for serving more meals. The cleaners don’t get a bonus for cleaning more classrooms.
“Councillors and members of the council have been clapping every week for people like us. Workers that have been keeping schools open, but they’ve been discriminating against us.”
The pay dispute at Dundee City Council potentially affects thousands of staff members. Many could have lost thousands from their pay packets due to the “discriminatory” agreements, organisers claim.
The staff affected by the pay dispute include those working for council offshoots Tayside Contracts and Leisure and Culture Dundee.
Stephanie added: “We’ve been at the heart of the pandemic, putting our own lives and our family members’ lives at risk to do these jobs.
“I want to see them review their pay policy to make sure that men and women are equal right across the board.”
Working women ‘cheated’
GMB Scotland organiser Helen Meldrum said the union had formally submitted its grievance to the council and is now launching equal pay claims on behalf of its members.
The union has been fighting on behalf of its members since the start of the pandemic.
She said: “The City of Discovery has a sex discrimination problem. Its working women are being cheated out of money every hour of every working day by the council.
“The bonus arrangements for workers in services like building and maintenance amount to unequal treatment for their colleagues in services like home care and school support.
“Despite this work being of equal value.”
Council ‘considering’ response
The GMB union is calling for lost earnings compensation as a result of the “discriminatory” bonus scheme.
Organisers also want to see end to other similar pay policies and a job re-evaluation.
Helen accused managers of either having “no intention” of ending the policies or being unable to do so.
She added: “Workers affected will never get the time back that they’ve worked. But they can get what they are owed through the recognition of this discrimination and proper value for the vital work they do for all of us.
“That’s what GMB is fighting for,” she added.
A Dundee City Council spokesman said they had received a collective grievance from the GMB.
“We will consider and respond in due course,” he said.
