Birmingham City Council agrees major equal pay deal with unions

The equal pay claims of thousands of women are to be settled with a council after several years.

The agreement between Birmingham City Council, Unison and the GMB union will see the authority’s 6,000 staff receive settlement payments.

The equal pay issue was one of the key factors in the authority declaring effective bankruptcy last year, when it said it faced a bill of £760m to settle claims.

Details of the agreement are confidential and the council’s cabinet will be asked to formally approve it on 17 December.

The dispute relates to claims that staff working in female-dominated roles such as teaching assistants have historically been paid less than those in male-dominated areas of the council, such as waste collection.

The campaign for 6,000 women was launched four years ago and talks resumed in November, the GMB union said.

GMB’s Rhea Wolfson said, “This result would not have been possible without the dedicated and tireless leadership of his campaign, which overcame enormous odds.”

Unison’s Claire Campbell said the agreement was “a good day for low-paid women” at the council.

“They will finally get the pay justice they deserve,” he said.

“Hopefully this will be a much-needed turning point for staff, services and local communities across the city.”

The council began paying equal pay claims after a landmark case was brought against the authority in 2012, but said the bill was set to rise to £760m in 2023.

However earlier this year Max Collar, the government-appointed chief commissioner to oversee the council’s financial recovery, Said the settlement bill could be lower than this.

Sally Maybury, a former administrative assistant at the council, was one of 174 people who won a Supreme Court decision more than a decade ago.

She previously told the BBC: “I felt like I was underestimated and treated as if I was worthless.”

“It was very tough, I was earning around £18,000 but as soon as I got to £22,000 there were no extra pay rises so my salary was kept quite low.

“I remember one year, my tax credits went up even though my salary didn’t go up – it’s absolutely crazy.”

The leader of the city council, Councilor John Cotton, said the agreement marked the end of “an intense round of negotiations” between the authority and its unions.

“This is an important step in the council’s reform journey,” he said.

Today’s news, arguably, draws a line under the defining issue of Birmingham’s financial struggles.

This would effectively be a huge relief to the bosses of the bankrupt local authority which is already facing cuts of £300m over two years.

What will provide even more comfort is the level of disposal.

Up to £760m was considered a worst-case scenario, but we understand the final figure will be hundreds of millions lower – somewhere around £300m-£400m.

The obvious question now is whether this will reduce the level of cuts required in the city?

The answer is probably not.

Cuts already in the pipeline are linked to excessive spending in other areas.

What could change is the level of properties sold by the council.

These were being sold to balance the £1 billion government debt, primarily to cover the equal pay liability.