26/09/2008

Funding Boost Of £455m For Equal Pay Claims

Funding of £455m will be awarded to councils in England to allow back payments relating to thousands of equal pay claims from women workers.

In a move to speed up long-term commitments to achieving equal pay for all council workers, local government minister John Healey gave the go-ahead to 34 councils to raise the money through capitlisation.

Mr Healey said: "Local government workers have the legal right to fair pay like anyone else, but some councils have let unequal pay persist for decades.

"I'm determined to see councils settle their equal pay obligations. Local government workers should get the equal pay to which they are entitled.

"Good progress has been made over the past year. But this is not a new obligation on employers and I now want to see even greater progress made, and the momentum of the past year maintained. I want to see councils go further and faster, working closely with the trades unions, to see fair pay for all staff."

Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, welcomed the move saying it was a huge boost for the women in the affected councils, who will receive "some pay justice at last".

(GK/JM)

Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

26 June 2013
Unison Wins Equal Pay Case
Nearly 2,000 women members of Unison are celebrating a historic equal pay victory today. They have finally demolished the long-running defence by Scottish councils of paying men discriminatory bonuses that are denied to women.
27 February 2006
Report highlights gender pay gap in the UK
Women are still being paid less than men, thirty years after the introduction of equal pay legislation, a new report has found. The government-commissioned "Shaping a Fairer Future" report from the Women and Work Commission found that women are earning 17% less than men. This was "bad for women and bad for Britain", the report said.
14 April 2004
Local government pay talks 'stalled' say union
Pay talks covering 1.5 million local government workers stalled today when the employers signalled a reluctance to improve on a 7% “with strings” offer over three years. Unison National Secretary Heather Wakefield, said: “After three joint secretaries’ meetings, it’s absolutely clear that the employers are adopting a tough stance.
19 August 2014
New Data Shows Women Hit By 'Mid-Life Pay Crisis'
Female managers over 40 years old are earning 35% less than men, according to new data by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and XpertHR. To earn the same as a male manager over a career, a woman would have to work the equivalent of over 14 years more.
01 September 2011
Commission On Minimum Wage Visit
Two Low Pay Commissioners are to visit London next week on a fact-finding visit about the National Minimum Wage. The visit is one of a number of planned trips the Low Pay Commission is making around the UK during 2011 to "gather information on how the minimum wage is operating".