Around
900 staff at government conciliation service Acas have been awarded an average
payout of £6,500 in compensation for years of unequal pay.
The
settlement, expected to cost the taxpayer £5.5m, comes after a battle by the
Public and Commercial Services union to fight unequal pay rates.
Two
years ago, an employment tribunal ruled that women workers at Acas were being
discriminated against.
John
Taylor, Acas Chief Executive, said: "Acas recognised that its old pay
system was found to be indirectly discriminatory by a tribunal decision.
"The
current proposal – reached after negotiations with the PCS – overcomes the
inequalities for Acas’s pay system and its staff."
The
Government has now directed all departments and agencies to undertake an equal
pay review by April 2003.
PCS
negotiator Steve Farley said: "This is a tremendous result for PCS members
at Acas and I am sure it will have ramifications across the whole of the Civil
Service."
Individual
staff members still have to agree on the settlement.
