GMB union, Birmingham City Council’s largest staff union, has called for Birmingham City Council to immediately and meaningfully enter settlement talks with the union to resolve the city’s equal pay crisis.
The demand comes after yesterday the West Midlands Employment Tribunal set a date of 25th November 2024 for a hearing to determine whether the city’s job evaluation scheme is valid.
GMB Union is the only union with equal pay claims against the council, with more than 3,000 GMB members having taken claims to sue their employer for its discriminatory pay policies.
Earlier this week Birmingham City Council issued a Section 114 notice, with council officials believing they do not have the resources available to meet their required expenditure for the year.
Council Chief Executive Deborah Cadman announced in June that the city’s equal pay liability was estimated to be between £650 million and £760 million, with that figure growing at a rate of between £5 million and £14 million per month.
Michelle McCrossen, GMB Organiser, said:
“After years of campaigning and years of stalling from the Council, Birmingham’s women workers will take strength from knowing that they will finally have their day in court.
“But Birmingham City Council doesn’t have to wait another 14 months to end the discrimination and settle this dispute – they should sit down with GMB and sort this out now.
“That would be the right thing to do for the thousands of women workers whose hard-earned wages have been stolen from them, but it’s also the right thing to do for the Council to save money and secure the future of the city’s services.
“It’s time for the Council leadership to finally do what’s best for Birmingham and deliver pay justice."
