Birmingham City Council could face fresh wave of equal pay claims

There could be a wave of fresh equal pay claims from staff at Birmingham City Council, a union has warned.

In 2012 the local authority said it would have to pay at least £757m to settle equal pay claims brought by mainly women who missed out on bonuses.

Now the GMB union says "significant new information" has emerged about how the council evaluated roles.

Birmingham City Council said it was "committed to resolving outstanding matters around equal pay".

The trade union has urged members not to agree to settlements and said it was reviewing unresolved cases with immediate effect.

In 2012, 174 people who mostly worked in traditionally female roles won a ruling at the Supreme Court over pay.

The £757m figure included claims by that group and hundreds of other workers, but it is thought the council has subsequently spent upwards of £1.25bn in settlements.

The GMB union is now claiming a recent employment tribunal case against the council has revealed key roles may have been evaluated wrongly in terms of parity.

It said a previously negotiated good faith agreement - a Memorandum of Understanding - stating that all GMB members would receive the same deal as those who took legal action against the council - is now "useless".

This union, which represents 7,000 Birmingham City Council workers, said it will start lodging new equal pay claims and will be "aggressive in its pursuit of pay justice" and it is considering industrial action.

Michelle McCrossen, GMB regional organiser, said she believe "thousands of workers" could be affected.

"We've been made aware of some documents where Birmingham City Council have conceded that their job evaluation cannot be relied upon. It's the scheme that everybody goes through, every job is put through, and it's supposed to eradicate any discrimination between male-dominated roles and female-dominated roles."

"It's our belief that there have been some male-dominated roles that are still being inflated. What that means for our women members is that they've been underpaid, once again," she said.

In a statement Birmingham City Council said: "The council is committed to treating all members of staff fairly and committed to resolving any outstanding matters around equal pay once and for all."

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