GMB Warns Fife Council
GMB Warns Fife Council: Flawed Job Evaluation Opens Door For ‘Third Wave’ Of Sex Discrimination In Scottish Local Government
GMB Scotland has today (Monday 25 June) warned Fife Council that it’s interpretation of an organisation-wide job evaluation review has opened the door for a third wave of sex discrimination against women in Scottish local government.
The trade union has instructed its solicitors to start legal action on behalf of thirty women with five years continuous services or more and who have not had their substantive rate of pay carried forward into their new grade.
Occupations affected include home carers and primary school caterers, including women still waiting for the settlement of their second wave equal pay claims, with GMB estimating that some staff may be in detriment by over £2,000 in lost earnings since April 2016.
GMB has written to Fife Council Chief Executive Steve Grimmond and local political leaders, urging them to learn the lessons of the equal pay scandal, which has seen Fife Council, settle £80 million worth of claims since 2004, and to resolve the inequality urgently.
GMB Scotland Organiser Helen Meldrum said: “At a time when second wave equal pay claims are still being settled, a third wave of pay discrimination is opening up because of the council’s interpretation of its job evaluation process. It is astonishing.
If a member of staff was at the top of the pay scale on their previous grade, backed by the length of service to qualify for that grading, then we believe they should be placed at the top of the scale on their new grade – not at the bottom or the middle.
Anything to the contrary is simply an unjustifiable devaluation of women’s work, skills and service. This should be a very straightforward process but it seems the council has failed to learn the lessons of the on-going equal pay scandal.
Less than ten per cent of the council’s posts have been re-evaluated so this is only the tip of the iceberg. That’s why need to call out this persistent sex discrimination now and campaign to secure pay justice for our hard-working members.”
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Contact: GMB Scotland Organiser Helen Meldrum on 07958 156838 or Peter Welsh, GMB Scotland Communications, on 07976 447077.
