'Equal pay settlement a great day for women workers'

Thousands of female workers have heard how much money they will receive in a long awaited equal pay settlement.

Payouts are expected to total more than £250m after Birmingham City Council's equal pay dispute with its female staff came to an end, 13 years after a landmark court ruling in 2012.

The case was brought by the unions Unison and GMB, on behalf of members working for the local authority and Birmingham Children's Trust, with the GMB saying the landmark deal had been "hard won".

"It's been a long road but we're finding some light at the end of the tunnel. It was a great day for the women workers of Birmingham," said teaching assistant Pamela Whatley.

GMB respresentative Ms Whatley described having experienced low morale and feeling undervalued despite knowing how hard she and other women worked.

She said: "I had to get a second job and worked it for two years just to try cover my bills with the cost of everything going up."

Her flat began to leak and debts piled up but with little money she could not do much to improve her situation, she said.

Ms Whatley added: "For other ladies that I've spoke to, there was a lady who couldn't get her heating fixed because she just didn't have the money and that kind of thing brings it home, that if we would have been paid equally in the beginning, we wouldn't have had to suffer for what we have."

The two unions had brought claims on behalf of low-paid workers, arguing women working as teaching assistants, catering staff and care workers were not able to earn the same as male counterparts in other roles across the workforce.

The staff held roles such as cooks, cleaners or carers and had discovered they had been denied bonuses given to other employees in traditionally male-dominated roles such as refuse collectors and street cleaners.

Equal pay claim timeline

• In 2012, 174 people who worked in traditionally-female roles won a ruling at the Supreme Court over the pay.

• In 2021, the GMB urged members to lodge tribunal claims with the council and unions.

• In 2023, the authority revealed it had to pay up to £760m to settle outstanding equal pay claims, relating to the previous under-payment of its female workers. It said that the pay dispute was a factor when it had to declare itself effectively bankrupt later that year.

• The council and unions reached a framework agreement in December 2024 and on Wednesday, claimants received individual payout notifications under the final settlement phase.

John Cotton, leader of Birmingham City Council, said the agreement marked the end of an intense period of dialogue between the authority and unions.

"It's an important step on the council's improvement journey," he said.

Ms Whatley said the experience had forged lifelong friendships.

"The journey, although it's one that does make you feel angry, it's sort of what we've gone through together as a team of women that's really empowering," she said.

"It just feels like a sisterhood where we can openly now discuss things like this.

"It was a momentous day. I felt victorious myself. It was like 'we've finally done it'.

"I'll now be able to get my leak fixed, pay off debts and hopefully treat my children."

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