Public sector union, Unison has urged Coventry City Council to stop wasting public funds fighting equal pay claims.
Unison has made claims on behalf of 250 low paid women council workers and warned Coventry City Council to “face the fact that equal pay is not a take it or leave it piece of legislation, but the law of the land”.
It follows a Birmingham tribunal ruling last week that there was no good reason why women should not get the same bonus payments as men. The tribunal took place after it was found that female staff were being paid less than their male colleagues.
The local authority said the tribunal found in part for the claimants and in part for the council. In a statement, it said: “At this stage we do not face any financial liability – no successful equal pay claims have yet been made.
“Claimants must now prove to the tribunal that they have an equal value claim for back pay.”
Valerie Broom, Unison West Midlands regional secretary, said: “For years Coventry, just like other councils, stuck its collective head in the sand, hoping the problem would go away. It didn’t and Unison will make sure that it remains on the council’s radar until it gets round the table with us and agrees a deal that brings in equal pay for the future.
“I am sure the people of Coventry want to see their money spent on improving services, not wasted on mounting legal bills fighting the inevitable. Coventry City Council must face the fact that equal pay is not a take it or leave it piece of legislation, but the law of the land,” Broom said.
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