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The Weekly paper of the New Communist Party of Britain

Equal Pay Victory

by New Worker correspondent

Workers employed by Birmingham City Council have won a long-running battle for equal pay. On Tuesday it was announced that 6,000 women workers have secured victory despite the effectively bankrupt council saying it requires £760 million to fund it. The deal will formally be approved this week, bringing to a close the four-year-old dispute. The dispute involved largely female staff such as teaching assistants who have historically been underpaid in relation to those in male-dominated positions such as refuse collectors.

One of the main unions involved, the GMB, said settlement payouts could be as much as four times higher than that offered to workers in 2021, with settlement expected to take place in the middle of 2025.

The union’s Head of Industrial Relations, Rhea Wolfson, said: “The women of Birmingham City Council have delivered an historic outcome today. They were told there wasn’t enough money, that they must accept that women workers are paid less. But they showed Council bosses that the show doesn’t go on without them.

“This result today sends a clear message to employers across the country. Pay discrimination is rife and GMB will not turn a blind eye when women workers are being short-changed.”

The BBC reported one of the victors, teaching assistant Pamela Whatley, saying that she was “over the moon” and had “a bit more peace of mind”; however, she complained “it’s unfortunate we haven’t got our settlements in time for Christmas”.

Already Birmingham City Council has paid out nearly £1.1 billion in equal pay claims since a landmark case was brought against the authority in 2012.

Sally Maybury, one of the 174 involved in the dispute that went to the Supreme Court, said: “I felt undervalued and treated as if I was worthless. It was very difficult, I was earning about £18,000, but as soon as I hit £22,000, there were no more incremental pay rises so my salary was kept quite low. I remember one year, my tax credits went up, even though my salary didn’t – that’s just crazy.”

The council thinks the real costs will be around £300–£400 million. It appears however, that further council cuts to pay for it are still in the pipeline. Assets have been sold off to pay for a £1 billion government loan mostly used to cover the claim. On a more positive note, the Birmingham dispute has been a short affair compared with the similar one in Glasgow that took 15 years.