The equal pay saga dominating the local government landscape continues to rumble on its destructive course. Equal pay is now not so much the elephant in the room but a stampeding herd of angry pachyderms.
Last week the Court of Appeal paved the way for tens of thousands of women to claim billions in compensation for unequal pay from the NHS and local authorities.
The ruling overturned a previous decision that two councils in north east England were essentially entitled to continue discriminating against female employees because they could not afford to bring them into line with the men.
Acas figures released last week also showed that the number of equal pay tribunal claims it dealt with last year more than doubled - it is now the most popular form of claim.
Employment lawyers have told Personnel Today that the tribunal system is beginning to creak under the pressure, and Acas itself has admitted that demand for its expertise is unprecedented.
With lawyers warning that HR professionals in the private sector will soon begin to experience their own equal pay nightmare, surely the government cannot continue to wash its hands of the problem. Ministers have repeatedly said that the problem is one for local councils to sort out for themselves - something which they are patently struggling to do.
Equal pay law is incredibly complex - last week's ruling ran to 150 pages with the judge calling the cases "the most complicated employment issues ever to be heard by this court".
For once I agree with the GMB union; it called for clarity from the government to help introduce a collective bargaining framework that would sort the problem conclusively. Either that, or the stampede will continue unchecked for years to come.
