WOMEN have died waiting for a resolution to a long-running equal pay claim that has already cost a Scots council around £100 million, a union has said.
GMB Scotland is to conduct a demonstration in Motherwell on Thursday over the plight of thousands of workers that they say are still waiting for settlements in cases which stemmed from the way jobs were evaluated.
The union, one of the biggest in Scotland, estimates that there remains up to 2000 outstanding claims worth in excess of £25 million in a dispute which it estimates has run for nearly ten years.
Many of those who have already received payouts include low-paid cooks, cleaners, home carers and dinner ladies.
But GMB Scotland in an attempt to get the rest settled, are to mount a protest at the Civic Centre in Motherwell as a North Lanarkshire Council meeting takes place.
Hazel Nolan, GMB regional organiser believe that North Lanarkshire Council had spent between £80-100 million on equal pay claims so far, taking into account legal fees and settlements but said the issues are "far from resolved".
"The only thing stopping these women from getting the money they deserve, the money that they worked for, that belongs to them, is the political will to do so. Some of these women have died waiting and now their families are still waiting for the council to give them back their money," she said.
"Some workers for example who had worked the same shifts side-by-side were offered settlements that varied by tens of thousands, when they should be entitled to the same pay outs for the same work. This is the crux of what we are fighting for.
GMB Scotland has taken out half page adverts in local papers across North Lanarkshire to promote their Equal Pay Now! campaign.
Last year, GMB Scotland wrote to every elected Labour official in North Lanarkshire to encourage them to finally settle the issue of equal pay, or face GMB taking action against the council.
"Hundreds of women across North Lanarkshire Council are still being forced to battle with the council's legal department to get justice for being paid less money than men for doing the same work," said Ms Nolan.
"Not only have these women suffered by being subject to a discriminatory employer to begin with, but now the council are forcing them to suffer further indignity by dragging them through a lengthy and completely unnecessary legal process to get the justice they deserve.
"Meanwhile the council squander taxpayers money in legal fees to fight their own workers for the money they owe them.
"GMB has now formed an action group on Equal Pay. We will be taking action to ensure that the right thing is done by these workers, and that they get what they rightly deserve. This injustice has been allowed to drag out for years, and can no longer be tolerated.”
Jim Logue, North Lanarkshire Council leader, said: ““The fact is the council has paid around £100million in equal pay claims since these began.
“We want to resolve this issue and we will ensure that we pay these claims where they are justified.
“All equal pay claims require to be checked for accuracy before settlement can be achieved.
“We have had positive early discussions with GMB officials. I reiterated that equality is at the top of my list of priorities and that I am determined to seek a positive solution.”
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