Women Workers Secure Over 1 Billion Pound From Equal Pay Campaigns

• Equal pay campaigns by women workers netted more than £1 billion this year
• The campaigns were led by a major trade union
• Roles impacted will include caregivers, cleaners, and caterers

Over £1 billion has been obtained for female workers this year as a direct result of successful equal pay campaigns run by a large trade union.

The GMB said that hundreds of thousands of women in locally employed sectors such as care, cleaning, and catering have been historically assigned lower pay bands or inferior terms and conditions compared to employees in sectors that are male-dominated, such as refuse collection, even though the sectors have equal value.

These payments were due to people being paid less than their male counterparts for several years. However, the issue is not yet closed as there are still around 40,000 unresolved claims for equal pay in 28 local authorities. The trade union, GMB, claims that the outstanding claims could amount to several hundred million pounds.

The union is also awaiting about 10,000 claims that are expected to be filed in one year. Rhea Wolfson, the GMB's head of industrial relations, pointed out that despite the high levels of equal pay legislation in place; pay inequality remains an issue for many women.

Rhea confirmed that over £1 billion will be paid out to women due to the campaigns and that the GMB will pursue further pay inequality in both the public and private sectors.