Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.
Claimant Mary Roche told the BBC's Phil Mackie that she "couldn't believe" she was being underpaid
A total of 174 female ex-Birmingham City Council workers can go ahead with compensation claims over missed bonuses after the council lost a court appeal.
The women, including cooks, cleaners, caterers and care staff, won a ruling over their lower pay in November 2011.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court rejected the council's argument the claims should have been made within six months of the women leaving their jobs.
The former workers now have six years to submit their compensation claims.
Lawyers for the women called the result a "landmark" judgement and said it could have "huge implications" for potentially "thousands" of other workers.
They said the 174 women in the group, named the Abdulla Group after the woman whose name was at the top of the list, could be entitled to about £2m between them.
The lawyers said up to another 1,000 former city council employees could also submit claims.
The city council said it would be reviewing the judgement "in detail" before considering its options.
The authority had argued the women should have submitted their claims through an employment tribunal within a six-month time limit of leaving their jobs.
Male-dominated jobsWednesday's ruling means the women can now seek compensation through the civil courts system.
The city council had challenged November's ruling in the Supreme Court but a panel of five judges dismissed the authority's appeal.
The court heard the women were among other female workers who had been denied bonuses which had been given to staff in traditionally male-dominated jobs such as refuse collectors, street cleaners, road workers and grave diggers.
The court was told that during 2007 and 2008, tens of thousands of pounds of compensation was given out to female council employees who were still working at the council.
More payments were made to women who had recently left who had taken cases to an employment tribunal.
However, these did not apply to anyone who had left the council more than six months before.
The Abdulla Group women's claims date back to 2010 and the six years they have to claim the compensation has been put back to that date.
'Absolutely gutted'That means anyone in the group who was still working at the council from 2004 could be entitled to a payout.
Mary Roach, from Yardley, who worked as a home help for the city council for 27 years, said she "could not believe it" when she heard about the bonuses they had missed.
Joan Clulow, 71, from Bartley Green, worked for the city council for 25 years, also as a home help, and said she felt "absolutely gutted" when she heard about the bonuses that had been paid to others.
- 27 April, 2010: About 5,000 mainly female council staff, including cleaners, cooks, care assistants and caretakers win their case for equal pay at an employment tribunal
- 9 June, 2010: The council announces plans to appeal against the equal pay ruling
- 9 May, 2011: The council's appeal is dismissed at the Employment Appeal Tribunal
- 29 November, 2011: A group of 174 female workers win a Court of Appeal decision on equal pay claims
- 10 January, 2012: The council lodges an application for permission to appeal with the Supreme Court against the decision on equal pay claims
- 25 October, 2012: The council is denied permission to appeal against the decision for low-paid female workers to seek compensation
She said: "The way [the council] treated us is abominable.
"We did everything [in our jobs] - we washed, dressed, cooked, cleaned, got pensions, everything... We were dedicated to looking after those people."
Chris Benson, partner at law firm Leigh Day and Co, which represented the women, said: "For these women it is the end of a long fight.
"They were underpaid for a long time.
"The salaries were the same - the women did earn between £10,000 and £15,000 a year while the men got the same - but on top of that they were offered bonuses of up to £15,000 that the women weren't entitled to and never received.
"The women just want to get paid fairly for the work that they did."
In a statement, the city council said this type of legal challenge had always previously been pursued in employment tribunals because they were "experienced and specifically trained in dealing with such claims".
It said holding cases in civil courts instead of tribunals meant potentially higher costs for the losing party. It added it would not comment further at present.
A government spokesman said: "We are fully committed to equality in the workplace.
"Local government pay is a devolved matter for local councils, and they will want to consider this legal ruling carefully."
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Council equal pay appeal bid lost
Dengan url
http://beritaberbagiceria.blogspot.com/2012/10/council-equal-pay-appeal-bid-lost.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Council equal pay appeal bid lost
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Council equal pay appeal bid lost
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar