GMB Warns North Lanarkshire Council Over Equal Pay

GMB Warns North Lanarkshire Council: ‘Get Your Act Together Now’ Over Equal Pay Pension Compensation

GMB Scotland has today (Wednesday 20 February) warned North Lanarkshire Council (NLC) to ‘get its act together’ amid continued delay over the recalculation and compensation of employee pensions affected by the equal pay scandal.

Despite the resolution of second wave equal pay claims in NLC in 2016, over one hundred GMB members have not had the value of their pensions readjusted to the reflect their settlements after years of discrimination.

GMB Scotland revealed last February that NLC had failed to return the monies owed to claimants, exclusively women, who include currently employed and now retired home carers, cleaners and school caterers.

However, despite reaching an agreement over the calculations for repayments with the council’s finance directors at Christmas, no settlement notifications have been sent to the women affected.

GMB Scotland Senior Organiser Louise Gilmour said: “Our message to leaders at North Lanarkshire Council is blunt: Get your act together now or you will be in direct confrontation with our union.

“The failure of NLC to properly recompense our members’ pension entitlement nearly three years on since their equal pay claims were settled is utterly shameful.

“Pensions are deferred earnings and the pay discrimination in councils like NLC devalued the retirement funds of women - it’s why pensions are such an important part of the equal pay process.

“This begs the question: Has the council learned anything from the equal pay scandal? At best this is shocking maladministration and at worst it’s an unlawful retention of our members’ money.”

ENDS

Contact: Peter Welsh, GMB Scotland Communications, on 07976 447077.