UNISON wins landmark equal pay ruling in Edinburgh

 Date: Thu 20 May 2010

Thousands of low paid council workers took a step closer to equal pay today thanks to a landmark decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal.

While many manual workers, such as cleaners, cooks and carers, have already received compensation, previous decisions of the EAT removed the right to compensation from thousands of administrators, clerical workers, learning assistants and library staff.

In the absence of a proper explanation for the pay differences between women and men, local authorities developed a technical argument that women and men only deserved equal pay if they were based at the same premises, or had the same pay and conditions - this argument has now failed.

UNISON General Secretary, Dave Prentis, said:
“I am delighted that UNISON has opened up this route to justice for so many of our members. There is now no place for employers to run or hide.

“UNISON’s equal pay campaign has defeated every contrived defence their lawyers have hidden behind.
“This charade has gone on too long. We want full compensation for all our members and that money must be paid now.”

One of UNISON’s largest group of winners from the decision are classroom assistants, many of whom earn as little as £10,000 a year.

Elaine North, a UNISON claimant from Dumfries, said:
“I was devastated when the court said I wasn’t entitled to equal pay. My colleagues do one-to-one education work with learning-disabled kids and while we love them it is such hard work.

“No harm to refuse collectors and gardeners, but fair pay is long overdue for us. We’ve worked hard for this.”

Jackie Gilchrist, who chairs the UNISON campaign for Fair Pay, said:
“This is a magnificent decision for us. Our pay has been formally investigated by the EOC and still the employers refuse to recognise the value of our jobs.

“We have gathered so much evidence about the demands of learning support work, but the courts have refused to look at it until now. They’ve got some reading to catch up on, I can tell you.

“There’s only one conclusion to reach at the end – our wages are going up.”

UNISON estimates that this Edinburgh decision will affect up to 70,000 workers across the UK and, while claim values will vary from person to person, some will exceed £30,000

Ends

 Notes to editors:

1. With over 40,000 live claims UNISON is the UK’s leading provider of legal assistance on equal pay issues.

2. In the UNISON test case of Dumfries & Galloway Council v North & Others, the EAT in Scotland accepted the employer argument that equal pay claims could only succeed if women and men shared common terms and conditions, or were working at the same premises. Given the way that the work of women and men is segregated this was a major barrier to justice for tens of thousands of women.

3. UNISON is pursuing the same issue for 1,400 women in Edinburgh and, in the Edinburgh appeal decision, Lady Smith of Scotland’s Court of Session and the EAT took the highly unusual step or revisiting and reversing her previous decision.

4. The transcript can be downloaded or read in full at
http://www.employmentappeals.gov.uk/Public/Upload/
UKEATS000209BI(Revised)EDINCCvMsWilkinsonothersFINAL.doc


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Union 90% vote approves Single Status deal

Date: Monday 3 August 2009


UNISON, Dumfries & Galloway's largest public service trade union, and partner unions UNITE & GMB today announced that their members working for the local authority, have all voted overwhelmingly to accept a negotiated Single Status deal.

UNISON members delivered a majority of 89.6% in favour of the package of proposals with 10.4% of members rejecting. The turnout was 75%.

UNITE & GMB members also voted to accept the offer in a high turnout with majorities of, - Unite 94% and GMB 93%

Speaking shortly after the votes were independently counted Marion Stewart, Dumfries & Galloway UNISON branch secretary said; "I am pleased that our members have voted to accept this deal. The joint trade unions believed it was the best available through negotiation.

"It has been a long, often very difficult process, which started back in 1999. Recently, Trades Unions and the Council formed an effective joint project board, led by retired Chief Executive, Phil Jones.

"This is a prime example of what can be achieved by good joint working and we are pleased the Council has recognised and invested in our equality demands. The package has been subjected to three external independent checks and has resulted in fairer pay for many previously undervalued and under paid female groups."

This is believed to be only the second negotiated settlement to be achieved between unions and their employers in Scotland's 32 local authorities. The Single Status agreement affects 6500 Council employees and seeks to eradicate current inequalities that exist in local government pay and conditions.

Ann Patterson, Branch Chair for Unite the Union said after the ballot "I am pleased to announce that Unite members have voted to accept the Council's proposals within Dumfries and Galloway.

"The Joint Trade Unions believed that the Council's proposals were the best that could be achieved via negotiation but recognise that a number of members will be subject to pay protection. We remain assured by the Council's commitment to pay equality for all staff and both sides recognise that this is just the beginning of an ongoing process to eradicate pay inequality."
Marion Stewart continued: "The result of the ballot marks a significant milestone. The focus of our work now will be to help colleagues who want to appeal their grading, to work to improve the position of those groups of staff who are subject to pay protection and to continue UNISON's ongoing support for members who have lodged equal pay claims."

As part of the Single Status agreement those groups of staff who are Pay Protected will be included in an exercise between the Joint Trade Unions and the Council to seek to establish "job redesign or job enlargement" which could potentially remove detriment.


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