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Equal pay: Most Welsh councils failing to settle equal pay claims Equal pay: Welsh councils agree £75m in pay claims
(30 days later)
More than five years after the deadline for settling equal pay claims, BBC Wales has discovered that most Welsh councils have still not completed the process. The cost of settling equal pay claims by Welsh council workers has reached more than £75m, BBC Wales has learnt.
Under an agreement with unions in 1997, councils had agreed to settle all claims, estimated at totalling more than £75m, by 2007. The final figure could be higher as a number of councils are still negotiating the implementation of equal pay structures.
But only three of 22 have settled in full, and some have yet to pay a penny. Others are facing the prospect of expensive industrial tribunal claims by workers who refused to accept council pay settlements.
Council leaders insisted the issue was "very, very complex". Council leaders say to date 16 councils have substantially settled claims.
The cost of settling equal pay claims by Welsh council workers is more than £75m.
The final figure could be higher as a number of local authorities are still negotiating the implementation of equal pay structures, while others are facing the prospect of expensive industrial tribunal claims by workers who refused to accept council pay settlements.
Research carried out by BBC Wales News shows local authorities in Wales have already paid over £60m, and a further £17.5m has been set aside for future claims.Research carried out by BBC Wales News shows local authorities in Wales have already paid over £60m, and a further £17.5m has been set aside for future claims.
Future payments
Bridgend has paid the most - £17m - in equal pay claims, followed by Carmarthenshire, which paid out £13m to members of its staff.Bridgend has paid the most - £17m - in equal pay claims, followed by Carmarthenshire, which paid out £13m to members of its staff.
The £13m payout from Carmarthenshire, which has approximately 9,000 members of staff, contrasts with an equal pay provision of £7.5m by Cardiff council, which employs 18,000.The £13m payout from Carmarthenshire, which has approximately 9,000 members of staff, contrasts with an equal pay provision of £7.5m by Cardiff council, which employs 18,000.
Under equal pay legislation, councils were supposed to settle claims by April 2007.
But a number of authorities, like Conwy and Flintshire, have not yet settled any, although they say they have set money aside to deal with any future payments.But a number of authorities, like Conwy and Flintshire, have not yet settled any, although they say they have set money aside to deal with any future payments.
Monmouthshire, Pembrokeshire and Torfaen are the only three authorities who have settled all claims in full. Monmouthshire, Pembrokeshire and Torfaen are the only three authorities who have settled all claims in full..
The current situation stems from a "single-status" agreement signed by local government employers and trade unions in an attempt to streamline pay scales - implementing a common pay scale for all jobs, based on equal pay and equal status.
The agreement also made it possible for council workers to make retrospective claims to settle for past pay discrimination, and these are the settlements which have taken five years to negotiate.
Dominic MacAskill, head of local government in Wales for the trade union Unison, says the discrepancy in the amount paid out from one council to another stems from the scale of discriminatory bonuses which were paid and now have to be addressed.Dominic MacAskill, head of local government in Wales for the trade union Unison, says the discrepancy in the amount paid out from one council to another stems from the scale of discriminatory bonuses which were paid and now have to be addressed.
He thinks councils should have sorted the issue at a much earlier stage.He thinks councils should have sorted the issue at a much earlier stage.
He said: "Settling these past inequalities is very expensive and I think that councils have been trying to put it off in the hope that case law will change or maybe claimants will get so tired of the lengthy litigation process that they could reduce their costs.He said: "Settling these past inequalities is very expensive and I think that councils have been trying to put it off in the hope that case law will change or maybe claimants will get so tired of the lengthy litigation process that they could reduce their costs.
'Mixed picture'
"But what they've done in fact is squander public money on expensive solicitors, delaying the inevitable.""But what they've done in fact is squander public money on expensive solicitors, delaying the inevitable."
When the councils agreed to implement new pay structures for their workers based on equal pay and equal status, they decided to deal with the issue individually, rather than take a uniform approach across Wales - and this has contributed to the mixed picture across the country with some nearing the end of the process, while others still have to make any equal pay settlements. The Welsh Local Government Association says that to date 16 authorities have substantially settled their equal pay claims.
And those that are not settled in full are generally because staff did not accept the offer and are pursuing tribunal claims or because new claims have since come in.
Anna Freeman, director of employment at the Welsh Local Government Association, said: "There have been all kinds of different claims - there's been claims that have been attached to dead people, claims attached to people that have left - some have been multiple claims - some have cited comparators, some haven't cited comparators.Anna Freeman, director of employment at the Welsh Local Government Association, said: "There have been all kinds of different claims - there's been claims that have been attached to dead people, claims attached to people that have left - some have been multiple claims - some have cited comparators, some haven't cited comparators.
"So that in itself has been very, very complex for local authorities to work through all these thousands of claims - so it's been a range of very, very complex issues."So that in itself has been very, very complex for local authorities to work through all these thousands of claims - so it's been a range of very, very complex issues.
"So it hasn't been a case that it's simple matters of just paying a claim when it comes in.""So it hasn't been a case that it's simple matters of just paying a claim when it comes in."
Hugh Coombs, professor of accounting at Glamorgan University, specialising in public service finance, said some councils have struggled to pay the cost.Hugh Coombs, professor of accounting at Glamorgan University, specialising in public service finance, said some councils have struggled to pay the cost.
"Some authorities have settled. But some of these discussions have got fairly heated," he said."Some authorities have settled. But some of these discussions have got fairly heated," he said.
"One example is Merthyr where there were quite serious tensions between the council and the trade union.""One example is Merthyr where there were quite serious tensions between the council and the trade union."