Workers pursuing a £500m equal pay claim against Glasgow City Council have warned the authority time is running out to settle the dispute.
Unison Scotland, which represents the women over their pay discrimination claim said the council should put an end to its long legal battle and pay the workers what they are due.
Glasgow’s City Administration Committee is due to meet tomorrow (Weds) to discuss its next move in the long-running dispute, after the Court of Session ruled last August that its Workforce Pay and Benefits Review (WPBR) was invalid.
The council has three options:it could embark upon further costly litigation, appeal to the Supreme Court, or settle the pay claims. However the Supreme Court has said any appeal must be lodged by Thursday, January 18.
The Court of Session quashed a previous success for Glasgow at an Employment Appeal Tribunal, ruling that the Council had failed to demonstrate a re-grading scheme introduced in 2007 was fair to female workers. It left women working in roles such as care earning thousands of pounds less than men in comparable jobs such as refuse collection.
When the SNP seized control of the City Council at the last local elections, the party's platform included a commitment to resolve outstanding pay claims, and council leader Susan Aitken has since reaffirmed the pledge to do so.
UNISON said councillors should decline the option of the Supreme Court appeal and support a cross-party solution to pay equality. Peter Hunter, UNISON’s regional manager, said: “Time is literally running out for Glasgow City Council. The council has delayed justice for thousands of women with its appetite for endless litigation. The court has been very clear: the council does not have a valid pay system in place. Councillors can not continue to waste public money on further litigation defending these discriminatory practices."
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