LANDMARK EQUAL PAY RULING IN EDINBURGH

Just moments before going to print, SiU has learned that thousands of low paid council workers took a step closer to equal pay thanks to a landmark decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal.

While many manual workers such as cleaners, cooks and carers have already received compensation, previous decisions of the EAT removed the right to compensation from thousands of administrators, clerical workers, learning assistants and library staff.

In the absence of a proper explanation for the pay differences between women and men, local authorities developed a technical argument that women and men only deserved equal pay if they were based in the same premises or had the same pay and conditions. This argument has now failed.

UNISON estimates that this Edinburgh decision will affect up 700,000 workers across the UK and while claim values will vary from person to person some will exceed £30,000

Check the website for more details as they come in.

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