Birmingham City Council agrees huge equal pay deal

Thousands of women are set to have their equal pay claims settled with a council after several years.

The agreement between Birmingham City Council, Unison and the GMB union will see 6,000 staff with the authority receive settlement payouts.

The equal pay issue was one of the key factors in the authority declaring effective bankruptcy last year when it said it was facing a bill of £760m to settle the claims.

Teaching assistant Pamela Whatley, from Acocks Green, said she was celebrating and felt "over the moon" to have "a bit more peace of mind" after fighting for four years.

The details of the agreement are confidential and the council's cabinet will be asked to formally approve it on 17 December.

The dispute relates to claims staff in female-dominated roles, such as teaching assistants, have historically been underpaid in relation to those in male-dominated positions.

The campaign for the 6,000 women was launched four years ago, the GMB union said, and talks restarted in November.

Posting on X, the union said the women had "made history" and the claim was "a significant step towards pay justice".

"This result would not have happened without their dedicated and tireless leadership of a campaign which was overcome huge odds," Rhea Wolfson, from the GMB, added.

The settlement was a "good day for low-paid women" at the council, Clare Campbell, from Unison, said.

"They will at last get the pay justice they deserve," she added.

"This will hopefully be the much-needed turning point for staff, services and local communities across the city."

"It's unfortunate we haven't got our settlements in time for Christmas," Ms Whatley said, adding she expected further details in the new year.

The GMB union rep was one of many workers gathering in front of Birmingham's Council House in Victoria Square on Tuesday to celebrate the settlement.

She was also one of hundreds of school support staff to walk out in May in protest over the equal pay issues, and said she hoped her settlement would mean she could reduce her hours at a second job as a waitress.

"We've had to come out of work, the kids have missed education because of it," she said.

"Hopefully [the settlement] will send a message to the next generation of children that I work with that women need to be able to stand up for their rights.

"I feel that it's really unfair that we've had to do this for so long."

Another claimant, Claire Shuttleworth, said: "It shouldn't have happened and we need to make sure now that it never happens again.

"We need to make sure that the young girls that we teach can go into jobs in the future knowing that they're going to be paid fairly along with their male colleagues."

Ms Shuttleworth, who has worked as a teaching assistant for 24 years, added she was thrilled an agreement had finally been reached.