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West Dunbartonshire's equal pay antics are not for the faint hearted.

The various twists and turns of recent weeks make it extremely difficult for anyone to follow what's going on - but perhaps that's exactly what council intends.

In May 2008 West Dunbartonshire set aside £21 million to cover its equal pay obligations - but then the council decided that additional and un-costed trade union proposals added another £6 million to the bill - which couldn't be met from existing budgets, so the deal was off.

In August 2008 the council considered a special report on equal pay - which criticised the trade unions for pushing a negotiating agenda that favoured traditional male groups - at the expense of their female members.

The council went on to agree that instead of spending £21 million (as originally proposed) - that only £14 million would be committed to sorting out equal pay.

£7 million has been set aside to meet the costs of the protection period - i.e. a second buy-out for employees (mainly former Manual Workers) who have already signed a Compromise Agreement.


A further £7 million has also been earmarked to meet the cost of 'goodwill' payments to staff who accept the changes on a voluntary basis - i.e. mainly former APT&C staff who have an claim for equal pay - but who have not been made a settlement offer or signed a Compromise Agreement.

But the fact is that both groups are likely to gain by pursuing an equal pay claim to the Employment Tribunals - because for most people the council's offer of settlement is worth much less than the real value of people's claims.

If the council disputes what we are saying - all they have to do is to explain how their offers are being calculated - we'll even help them out by publishing the details on the Action 4 Equality Scotland blog site.


But far from giving people what they're due - the council is actually trying to spend only £14 million of the £21 million set aside for equal pay only a few months ago.

The reality is that the workforce in West Dunbartonshire is being robbed collectively of at least £7 million (according to the council's own figures) - as the council goes back on its word to backdate the outcome of the Job Evaluation exercise.

So, if you want a fair outcome on equal pay, you should make a claim to the Employment Tribunals - the council and the trade unions have already shown why they can't be trusted to do the right thing.

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