Once Bitten, Twice Shy - WDC
West Dunbartonshire Council has got itself into a terrible mess on how to implement single status and resolve all of its outstanding equal pay claims.
Like other councils in Scotland, West Dunbartonshire was absolutely adamant that it had no equal pay problems - that is until Action 4 Equality Scotland and Stefan Cross came along.
Then things quickly changed - the council began to make offers of settlement to some (manual) groups - these offers were worth much less than the likely value of people's claims - the council refused to explain how they were calculated - and so many people felt pressurised into accepting them - without fully understanding the consequences.
According to Action 4 Equality clients, the unions were worse than useless - they failed to support their members properly at crucial times - as happened in many other areas.
And now these chickens are coming home to roost.
The council has had to admit that every employee that signed a Compromise Agreement up to 1 April 2006 - has a further substantial equal pay claim because of the recent Court of Appeal ruling - see posts dated 2, 4 and 8 August 2008.
The trade unions are also running scared because they too have been held to account by the Court of Appeal - see post dated 17 July 2008 - which effectively means the unions are responsible for the financial losses of their members.
West Dunbartonshire is now planning to make further Compromise Agreement offers to employees - for the period 1 April 2006 to 1 April 2009.
Again, these new offers will not be properly explained - by the council or the unions - and again they are likely to be worth much less than the real value of people's claims.
Action 4 Equality's advice is not to accept any new offer of settlement - if you are already a client of Stefan Cross you don't need to take any action - just sit tight, do not sign or agree to anything - because your full claim against the council is proceeding.
If you're not already pursuing an equal pay claim - you should consider doing so as soon as possible - to protect your interests - otherwise you are likely to be taken to the cleaners again.
If you need an application form contact Action 4 Equality Scotland on 0845 300 3 800 - or drop Mark Irvine an e-mail with your contact details at: markirvine@compuserve.com
Like other councils in Scotland, West Dunbartonshire was absolutely adamant that it had no equal pay problems - that is until Action 4 Equality Scotland and Stefan Cross came along.
Then things quickly changed - the council began to make offers of settlement to some (manual) groups - these offers were worth much less than the likely value of people's claims - the council refused to explain how they were calculated - and so many people felt pressurised into accepting them - without fully understanding the consequences.
According to Action 4 Equality clients, the unions were worse than useless - they failed to support their members properly at crucial times - as happened in many other areas.
And now these chickens are coming home to roost.
The council has had to admit that every employee that signed a Compromise Agreement up to 1 April 2006 - has a further substantial equal pay claim because of the recent Court of Appeal ruling - see posts dated 2, 4 and 8 August 2008.
The trade unions are also running scared because they too have been held to account by the Court of Appeal - see post dated 17 July 2008 - which effectively means the unions are responsible for the financial losses of their members.
West Dunbartonshire is now planning to make further Compromise Agreement offers to employees - for the period 1 April 2006 to 1 April 2009.
Again, these new offers will not be properly explained - by the council or the unions - and again they are likely to be worth much less than the real value of people's claims.
Action 4 Equality's advice is not to accept any new offer of settlement - if you are already a client of Stefan Cross you don't need to take any action - just sit tight, do not sign or agree to anything - because your full claim against the council is proceeding.
If you're not already pursuing an equal pay claim - you should consider doing so as soon as possible - to protect your interests - otherwise you are likely to be taken to the cleaners again.
If you need an application form contact Action 4 Equality Scotland on 0845 300 3 800 - or drop Mark Irvine an e-mail with your contact details at: markirvine@compuserve.com
