Getting your priorities all wrong

The trade unions are making lots of noise about the effect inflation is having on recent pay deals they've struck - which speaks volumes about their priorities when it comes to low paid women members (who make up the bulk of the public sector workforce).

The media is full of quotes from the likes of Unison's Dave Prentis - with dire threats about strike action as inflation reaches 3.3% and is predicted to rise to well over 4% by the end of this year.

Recent pay deals - such as the recent NHS agreement worth 8% over 3 years - won't now keep pace with inflation, so union members will see their standard of living fall - and the reputation of union negotiators will take a big hit.

But the real scandal is that strike action over the odd percentage point is small beer - compared to the vast sums that many women union members have lost - as a result of unequal pay over the past 10 years.

The facts are that:

1. Many female dominated jobs are paid much less than their male colleagues
2. The pay gap is enormous - up to 50% in some cases - with women workers being paid up to £3.00 an hour less than men
3. The unions have known about the pay gap all this time - and have let the employers get away with murder

So, all the talk about going to the barricades over a percentage point - here or there - is simply mad when you consider that low paid women members have been losing out hand over fist - for the past decade and more.

An example of an equal pay claim for a woman council worker on full-time hours would be: £3.00 per hour x 37 hours x 52 weeks x 6 years (back pay) = £34,632 + interest!!

So, why hasn't the huge pay gap with male council workers excited the interest of the trade unions all these years? A very good question.

Making a claim

If you want to pursue and equal pay claim with Action 4 Equality, all we need to get things moving are:

1. Your name
   
2. Your address
   
3. Your post code

You can ring - 0845 300 3 800 - and leave these details, or you can request an application form by sending an e-mail to Mark Irvine at : markirvine@compuserve.com

Union speaks with forked tongue

The union blowhards who tried to disrupt the recent Action 4 Equality meeting in Bromley - are now trying to do the council's dirty work - by telling their members that there are no male comparators on which to base an equal pay claim.

Yet, in the same breath, they are also saying that the union has been in discussions with the council - about a possible 'buy out' of claims - although a final agreement has still to be reached.

Now this is completely bonkers - why would the council enter into negotiations if people did not have a valid equal pay claim?

So, the unions are talking nonsense - they have kept their members in the dark for years - and now they're trying to help the employer - by spreading misinformation and discouraging people from pursuing an equal pay claim.

The unions behaviour is likely to backfire with their members - because the employees we are speaking to are very angry that secret talks appear to be taking place with the council - which the ordinary members know nothing about.

You can bet that if the council does make a 'buy out' offer - they will refuse to explain how it is calculated - and so will the unions.

Because if they did explain how they come up with these figures - it would give the game away - people would see that they are being cheated - and that they would be much better off pursuing an equal pay claim.

Self Praise Is No Praise

"Self praise is no praise", is an old but a very true saying - and it's just as relevant in dealing with equal pay as in any other walk of life.

We received the following e-mail from a council employee earlier in the week - a few personal details have been changed to protect the person's privacy and identity:

Hi Mark

Job Evaluation and Equal Pay

Got your name and your site from my Unison rep today.

I'm really at my wits end with job evaluation and an important equal pay issue with my employer. My issues have been dragging on for ages with no one taking responsibility for moving things on.

I feel I have gone round in circles and been let down in trying to get a solution. Please can you advise on what to do now?

Thanks, and your site is great.

Regards

HB

We take it as a compliment that Unison stewards are referring their members to Action 4 Equality - for advice about job evaluation and equal pay - it just confirms what we've been saying about ordinary members being kept in the dark all these years.

So, if you have an equal pay query - drop a note to: markirvine@compuserve.com

Now there's a surprise!

Action 4 Equality has been operating in London for a very short time - but already there are signs of panic among HR managers in Bexley.

As soon as our clients claims are registered with the employers - a surprising thing always happens - and the same pattern is now emerging in London

HR managers - who previously showed no interest in equal pay - are suddenly keen to discuss the issue - and sometimes they have the bare faced cheek to suggest that anyone pursuing a claim to the Employment Tribunals is acting a bit hasty.

Remember these are the same managers who have failed to implement the 1998 Single Status Agreement for the past 10 years - an agreement that was supposed to deliver a fairer deal for low paid women workers.

In Bexley, the HR department has suddenly sprung into life - but only after receipt of equal pay claims from Stefan Cross - they have told our clients that their claims will not succeed - but can we talk about the possibility of a negotiated settlement.

Now there's a surprise! Hands up any one who believes the council would be remotely interested in discussing a settlement - without the helpful encouragement from Action 4 Equality and Stefan Cross?

The truth is the council is now doing our work for us - because it's perfectly obvious that they would never be willing to consider a settlement - if people didn't have valid claims.

Our advice to clients is that this is a hugely encouraging sign - there's no need to discuss your case with management - the basis of your claim has already been made very clear by Stefan Cross.

So, all you need to do once your claim is up and running is to sit tight - contact us for advice by all means - but if HR or anyone else wants to talk about settlement - simply refer them to Mark Irvine or Stefan Cross.

If you haven't yet made a claim - all we need is your name, address and post code to send out an application form/s.

Equal Pay and Manual Workers

Haringey Council - aided and abetted by tame local union reps - is trying to hoodwink staff into believing that only manual workers can bring equal pay claims.

The council has recently paid £4 million in compensation to limited groups of female manual workers - on the basis that they've been much paid less than traditional male jobs (refuse drivers, gravediggers and suchlike) - for many years.

Now the council won't explain how these 'buy outs' have been calculated - nor will the unions - even though they have the information at their fingertips - since they were jointly responsible for negotiating these 'male only' bonus schemes.

But the propaganda now being put around - by managers and unions alike - is that other APT&C groups such as Teaching Assistants can't bring an equal pay claim - because they can't use the same manual worker comparators such as refuse drivers and gravediggers.

What a load of old tosh - equal pay is not restricted to manual workers - it's about the skills and responsibilities of your job.

Refuse Drivers - along with other relatively highly paid manual worker jobs - are perfectly valid comparators - the only test is whether there is a difference in pay and can that pay gap be justified - when comparing the skills and responsibilities of the respective male and female job.

Anyone with an ounce of common sense would say that a Teaching Assistant cannot be worth less than a Refuse Driver or a Gravedigger - and that's why these groups and many others are perfectly capable of pursuing an equal pay claim.

Action 4 Equality has achieved settlements for Teaching/Classroom Assistants in lots of other areas - for example in Glasgow - which is Scotland's largest council and a much bigger employer than Haringey.

So, don't listen to the Jeremiahs who tell you what you can't do - by pursuing an equal pay claim with Action 4 Equality - you have nothing to lose and plenty to gain!

Secondary equal pay claims

We've had lots of enquiries recently about so-called 'secondary' equal pay claims - these arise because councils continue to protect the higher pay of the of traditional male groups - even after new local pay structures have been introduced.

So, even if you've accepted a 'compensation' settlement from the council - this only covers the past, not the future - and you will continue to have a claim for equal pay for as long as the pay gap continues.

In many cases, the employers have agreed pay protection for years into the future - and that means sizeable claims for many female dominated jobs that have been losing out for years.

The root problem has been the employers failure to implement the 1998 Single Status (equal pay) agreement - and the willingness of the trade unions to turn a blind eye to the blatant pay discrimination against their low paid women members.

In addition, many female dominated jobs will continue to have an equal pay claim even after a new job evaluation (JE) scheme has been introduced.

Action 4 Equality has plenty of evidence to show that many employers have used job evaluation to introduce Single Status on the cheap - and in ways that simply maintain all the old pay differentials.

See the Action 4 Equality Scotland site for examples of employers behaving badly when it comes to job evaluation - www.action4equalityscotland.blogspot.com

So, the message is there's still lots to play for on equal pay - but you can only benefit if you stand up for your rights and register an individual claim.

Bromley - Carers Meeting

Bromley played host to a meeting of council Home Carers last week - the meeting was positive and well attended - and, as usual, people were amazed to learn the extent to which they have been kept in the dark about Single Status and Equal Pay.

Apparently, Bromley Council have not made any compensation offers to their employees - nor have they introduced a new non-discriminatory Job Evaluation (JE) scheme - as they promised to do 10 years ago.

So, the council is vulnerable to equal pay claims not just from the Home Carers - but also from a wide range of other council employees - including catering staff, classroom assistants and clerical workers.

Bizarrely, the local Unison branch secretary turned up at the meeting - along with a few union heavies - with the aim of intimidating the Home Carers who had actually been invited to attend.

Thankfully, the women gave the Unison reps short shrift - they demanded to know why the unions hadn't been holding their own meetings about equal pay and keeping members properly informed.

The women then they took a unanimous vote and told the union goons to sling their hook - which they did with their tails firmly between their legs.

So, the moral of the story is don't take any lessons from union officials who have sat on their lazy backsides for the past 10 years - in far too many areas the unions are part of the establishment - part of the problem - and not part of the solution when it comes to equal pay.