14 April 2006
More than 1,700 low-paid female employees have won equal pay claims against Cumbria County Council. Estimates of the final payout range between £30m to £100m - substantially more than the £8m the council originally offered.
The cases were taken by the unions Unison and the GMB and relate to more than ten years worth of bonuses paid to female cooks, cleaners and carers, which an employment tribunal ruled should have been paid at a higher rate. A further 293 cases are being examined to see if the roles of the female workers are of equal value to male comparators.
But almost 1,000 other cases were unsuccessful because their roles could not be compared to those of any male workers at the authority.
Unison regional women's officer Sharon Mee said that while the unions were 'delighted' with the success of 1,771 cases, the failure of the others revealed the limits of the courts in settling equal pay claims.
She told Public Finance: 'Real progress can be made only through job evaluation. Court cases rely on finding a male comparator - which doesn't always exist.'
Under the 1997 Single Status Agreement all local authorities are due to implement job evaluation by April 2007. So far, only a quarter have done so, and Mee said further progress would be limited as the government had not funded the extra costs involved.
PFapr2006
