Unison wins equal pay victory against Bury Council

Trade union Unison has won an equal pay legal case against Bury Council.

The Employment Appeal’s decision confirms that over 900 mainly low paid women, such as carers, catering assistants, cooks, cleaners, domestic assistants, school crossing patrol attendants, home carers, are entitled to compensation for the years they were paid less than male council workers doing comparable jobs.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal judgement follows ‘years of intransigence by Bury Council’, the trade union claim

Steve Stott, Unison regional manager, said:

“We are satisfied this judgement now paves the way for the Council to pay all those affected staff the money they are legally entitled to. We will now be pushing the Council to apply for capitalisation funds, which will allow them to spread the cost of the equal pay settlements over a longer period. Better managed councils resolved most of their past equal pay problems long before the present crisis.”