The GMB union has revealed that Durham County Council is potentially facing an equal pay claim valued at tens of millions of pounds from thousands of female employees. As many as 3,000 women could back the claim, alleging they have been 'systematically underpaid' in comparison to colleagues in predominantly male positions.
Union Campaign Outside County Hall
GMB campaigners assembled outside County Hall on Wednesday, pressing councillors to support its pledge urging the authority to negotiate a settlement instead of contesting the claims in court. The union contends there are structural disparities in remuneration between roles largely performed by women, such as teaching assistants, and positions predominantly filled by men, including refuse collectors.
Etaine Stobbart, GMB organiser, characterised the situation as 'an absolute scandal'. Speaking outside County Hall, she stated: 'Women workers at Durham Council have been systematically underpaid for years. Fifty years on from the Equal Pay Act, it's an absolute scandal. These claims are not going away. Durham can either bury its head in the sand and see us in court, or do the decent thing and negotiate to get this sorted, like other councils have done.'
Scope of the Claim
Ms Stobbart indicated the union understood positions from grades five through to 12 were impacted. She continued: 'We are asking councillors to sign our pledge to say they will back us on equal pay, so we can settle it, rather than going through a long legal process, which is costly to both sides. We have spoken to the leader of the council, Andrew Husband, and we are hopeful we can get everyone together and resolve this. We want women to be paid fairly at the same rate for the relevant grade. Pay everyone fairly and equally as they have been graded and scored. It doesn't matter what you do; you should get paid the value for the job you are doing.'
Council's Response
Durham County Council declined to address the claims directly in its response, citing possible legal proceedings. Alison Lazazzera, the authority's head of human resources and employee services, stated: 'We note the GMB's comments. However, it would not be appropriate for the council to comment on them directly, given the potential court action mentioned. It is nevertheless important to clarify that working arrangements with and across the council vary between services for legitimate operational and objectively justifiable reasons. Any flexibility in working patterns reflects the nature of the work performed and is not related to gender. Those differences, particularly in relation to our refuse collection teams who have a group working arrangement, have also been agreed with the trade unions through a local collective agreement. Pay is determined by reference to job evaluation and grading under our Job Evaluation Scheme, which is designed to eliminate inequalities in pay.'
