Classroom and Teaching Assistants

Classroom and Teaching Assistants have fared particularly badly - when it comes to councils implementing new pay and grading structures.

For years these predominantly female jobs have been paid much less than traditional male jobs such as refuse workers or gardeners - some of whom are paid £10 - £12 per hour.

The Single Status agreement (see post dated 17 March) was supposed to sort that out in 1998 - or at least very soon afterwards.

But classroom and teaching assistants have been exploited ever since - even though the skills and responsibilities of their jobs are clearly much greater, if anything, than the jobs done traditionally by male council workers.

Some London councils are now introducing new pay and grading structures - after a job evaluation exercise - one that considers (objectively) the content of all the individual council jobs and comes up with a sensible and agreed formula for what they should all be paid.

Job evaluation is supposed to make things fairer - in theory at least - and the original aim (in 1998) was to properly reward the skills of the female dominated jobs which had been losing out for years.

But around the country - not just in London - the story is exactly the same: job evaluation is a bad joke.

Jobs like classroom and teaching assistants end up on the same grade as refuse collectors and unskilled gardeners - and on even lower grades (and less pay) than the chap that drives the bin lorry!

That's why so many people have an equal pay claim - because often job evaluation is often just about maintaining the status quo.

Instead of tackling the widespread pay discrimination - that people still can see with their own eyes - the pay gap between male and female council jobs is a great as ever.

So, spread the word - and let your friends and co-workers know.