Birmingham City Council to settle 6,000 equal pay claims

Birmingham City Council has agreed to settle 6,000 equal pay claims brought by both past and present staff four years after they were launched.

The local authority is expected make the payments to the predominantly female low-paid workers in mid-2025.

A deal was reached after council bosses re-entered talks with GMB Union and Unison, establishing a framework agreement to settle the claims.

While details of the agreement are confidential, a “historic outcome” has been delivered, according to GMB. It revealed the payouts are likely to be up to four times higher than the amount the workers were offered in 2021.

Rhea Wolfson, the union’s head of industrial relations, said: “This result would not have happened without their dedicated and tireless leadership of a campaign which was overcome huge odds. 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.”

The long-running dispute concerns claims that employees in female-dominated positions, such as teaching assistants, have for a long time been paid less than those in male-dominated ones.

Councillor John Cotton, leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “This framework agreement marks the end of an intense period of dialogue between the council and its unions. It is an important step on the council’s improvement journey.”

He believes the agreement aims to “mark the start of a new era of productive and progressive industrial relations built on trust and mutual respect”.

Cotton added: “The next phase of the equal pay programme will be to deliver a new pay and grading model and job evaluation scheme so that pay inequality at the city council can end once and for all.”

Since a landmark equal pay claim was brought against Birmingham City Council in 2012, the authority has paid out almost £1.1bn in cases. In 2023, it estimated the bill had surged to £760m.

Also commenting on the deal, Unison West Midlands head of organising Claire Campbell claimed it was good news for the council’s low-paid female workers, who would “at last get the pay justice they deserve”.

She said: “Birmingham City Council has longstanding industrial relations issues, but this agreement will show what can be achieved when the council negotiates constructively and in good faith. This will hopefully be the much-needed turning point for staff, services and local communities across the city.”

The council’s cabinet is set to finally approve the agreement on 17 December.

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