International Women’s Day 2022 #Breakthebias

GMB calls on Glasgow and Dundee Councils to “break the bias” over discriminatory pay

On International Women’s Day (Tuesday 8 March) equal pay claimants in two of Scotland’s biggest local authorities are calling on their employers to help “break the bias” of gender inequality by ending discrimination in their pay and grading schemes.

Thousands of GMB Scotland members across Glasgow City Council and Dundee City Council, including its arms-length organisations Tayside Contracts and Leisure & Culture Dundee, have live equal pay claims against their employers.  

Glasgow City Council’s discriminatory pay system has been recognised, with over £500 million in equal pay settlements already paid-out in 2019. However, new and residual claims remain outstanding, with workers’ recently backing industrial action against delays for the replacement of the discriminatory pay system and the settlement of outstanding liabilities.

Meanwhile across Tayside, the union is lodging claims as thousands of women may have lost out on thousands of pounds each in earnings because of a pay agreement that council chiefs either suspect or know to be discriminatory, where male dominated jobs receive higher bonuses and enhancements than their female colleagues.  

By law men and women must get equal pay for doing ‘equal work’, this includes the basic rate of pay, pensions, bonuses, and benefits. 

GMB Scotland Secretary Louise Gilmour said: 

“On International Women’s Day, it’s important to remember that we still have deep rooted gender pay discrimination in Scotland’s public services, and the ongoing equal pay fights in Glasgow and Dundee are evidence of this.

“Our members 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.

“So, the identification, challenge, and resolution of gender pay discrimination isn’t an event; it should be a constant process of change that everyone with a stake in the world of work must take responsibility for.

“That’s why we are urging the officials and elected representatives of these two cities, many of whom will be seeking re-election soon, to work with our members and not against them in the fight for equal pay, and to help break the bias of pay discrimination in these councils.”

ENDS

Contact: GMB Scotland Communications on 07976 447077.