Scotland’s largest council has agreed to pay around £770m to settle equal pay claims.
Glasgow City Council said it will pay around 19,000 former and current workers, covering a “gap period” between an initial agreement in 2018 and the implementation of a new pay and grading system.
Council leader Susan Aitken said she is “delighted” the authority can “deliver the final stage of pay justice” that women working for the authority “fought long and hard for”.
She spoke after a deal was reached between the council and workers represented by Action 4 Equality, the GMB, Unison and Unite unions.
The authority previously approved plans to fund the equal pay settlement by selling key council-owned buildings - including Glasgow City Chambers and the Kelvingrove Art Gallery - to an arm’s length company before leasing them back.
But it then stressed the buildings will remain in the city’s ownership and people will not experience any difference accessing them on a day-to-day basis.
Speaking after the latest deal was agreed, Aitken said: “I am delighted we have reached agreement with claimants’ representatives and can deliver the final stage of the pay justice that many Glaswegian women have fought long and hard for.”
She added: “We always knew that the lag between the first agreement four years ago and putting in place a new pay and grading structure meant additional payments would be made.
“But despite the length, complexity and challenges of this process, not least the impact of the pandemic, the city government has never wavered in our commitment to ensuring these women were compensated for the persistent undervaluing of their work over many years.”
Aitken said the new pay and grading system will prevent future pay discrimination.
She added: “The complex process of replacing the council’s pay and grading system to make it discrimination-proof is well advanced and will draw a line under the era of pay discrimination in Glasgow City Council.”
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