The Unions and Equal Pay

According to our clients, stories are sweeping across London about the strange reluctance of the trade unions to get stuck and defend their female members' interests on equal pay.

The most recent reports involve the GMB and the London Borough of Enfield - but the same is true across the rest of the city.

The answer is that the trade unions are trying to face both ways at the same time - they negotiated the much higher (bonus related) pay of the male groups in the first place - but then kept their women members in the dark for years.

So, the trade unions are scared of getting sued by their own members - as happened in the case below against the GMB - reported on this blog site earlier in the year.

Read on.....

Sex Discrimination Bombshell for Unions


The big 3 public sector unions (GMB, Unison and Unite) are in a state of shock following a landmark decision yesterday in the Court of Appeal.

The case, known as Allen v GMB, was heard originally in the Employment Tribunals in Newcastle - and found that the GMB had discriminated against their own low-paid women members.

It was the first decision of its kind in the UK and has huge implications for GMB and the other trade unions.

The women workers complained that the GMB was guilty of sex discrimination when it acted on their behalf. The women - who sought equal pay with the men - alleged they were represented inadequately by the union.

The Employment Tribunal decided unanimously that their employer (Middlesborough Council) should have eradicated unequal pay years earlier.

The tribunal also found that the GMB then collaborated with the employer by manipulating members, who had back pay claims, into unwittingly sacrificing their rights - to the benefit of the employers.

In doing so, the tribunal agreed that the union had unjustifiably discriminated against their own low-paid women members.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) reversed the initial decision of the Employment Tribunal in 2007, but the Court of Appeal has now restored the original judgement.

The Court of Appeal has decided that the GMB misrepresented the 'deal' that was on offer from Middlesborough Council - and the case will now be referred back to the Employment Tribunal to consider compensation awards.

The GMB was refused permission by the Court of Appeal to appeal further to the House of Lords - the union is entitled to seek permission from the House of Lords directly, but this must be done by 30 September 2008 - and Stefan Cross will oppose any such application.

Thousands of similar cases are waiting in the wings.