Overview
- GMB reports securing about £1.1 billion across six local councils, settling nearly 30,000 claims out of court for an average of roughly £30,000 per worker.
- Recent agreements include around £250 million for Birmingham City Council and Birmingham Children’s Trust after a four-year campaign, while Glasgow’s 2022 deal totaled £770 million.
- The union says about 40,000 claims remain unresolved across 26 local authorities, a liability it estimates could reach hundreds of millions of pounds.
- GMB plans to bring approximately 10,000 additional claims next year across five more councils and has urged leaders in areas including Coventry and Bradford to negotiate.
- The cases center on predominantly female roles such as care, cleaning and catering being graded below male-dominated jobs like waste collection despite equal value.