GMB Scotland tells council leaders to stop hiding on equal pay

GMB Scotland has urged council leaders to stop hiding behind officials and end Scotland's equal pay scandal.

Speaking at the STUC Women’s Conference in Glasgow, GMB Scotland delegate Melanie Gale hailed recent victories for women fighting to be paid the same as men in similar roles but said more must be done to secure equality across all local authorities.

She highlighted a recent tribunal ruling suggesting Fife Council had deliberately manipulated job evaluations to ensure women were paid less and said it would be no surprise if other councils had rigged the system against women workers.

She said the pressure is now on council leaders to step up and do the right thing and said too many had hidden behind officials instead of taking responsibility to ensure women were paid equally.

She added: “Political leaders have remained silent on the deliberate underpayment of women and failed to show any political leadership to the constituents and their employees, hidden behind their officers and failed to engage directly with trade unions.”

She proposed a motion, passed by the conference, urging the STUC to secure a commitment from council leaders to engage directly with the unions on equal pay and compensate those women who have been underpaid for years.

Meanwhile, GMB Scotland also backed calls to improve the recruitment and retention of midwives at the two-day STUC conference being staged in Glasgow.

GMB Scotland delegate Teresa Will said there must be more routes into midwifery and backed moves to create more high-quality apprenticeships within NHS Scotland.