Almost 900 staff at conciliation service Acas have won an average payout of
£6,500 each in compensation for years of unequal pay.
The settlement, expected to cost the taxpayer £5.5m, follows an employment
tribunal two years ago that ruled women workers at Acas were being
discriminated against.
John Taylor, Acas chief executive, commented: "The current proposal –
reached after negotiations with the Public and Commercial Services Union –
over- comes the inequalities for Acas’ pay system and its staff."
Taylor said that, along with all other government departments and agencies,
Acas will be carrying out an equal pay audit by 2003.
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Steve Farley, negotiator for the PCS, said: "I am sure this will have
ramifications across the whole of the Civil Service."
Research released last week shows that the UK’s 250,000 female civil
servants are earning 28 per cent less on average than their male colleagues.
