MORE than a thousand low-paid female employees at West Dunbartonshire Council have seen their hopes of receiving historic equal pay deals dashed.

The ruling SNP administration pulled the plug on the possibility of having money returned to them after claiming it would be “unlawful”.

The party won a vote on its controversial decision during a heated full council meeting at Garshake on Wednesday night.

Now, up to 1,082 low-paid female employees are set to miss out.

The women affected work in a variety of professions and includes cleaners, nurses and school dinner ladies.

After the meeting Jim Bollan of the Community Party, lambasted the decision, claiming the SNP made a “monumental, moral, and political mistake”.

And Labour group leader Martin Rooney said it was a “betrayal” of low-paid workers by the SNP.

The SNP hit back, claiming the mess should have been sorted out by the previous Labour administration, who “sat on their backsides” instead of dealing with it.

A report into the controversy was initially withheld from the public and press.

However, following pressure from opposition parties, the report and debate were held publicly.

The report recommended West Dunbartonshire Council take “no further action”.

An eye-watering £1.25m had been set aside to settle lodged equal pay tribunal claims but, according to the reports, settling with all groups, including former employees who could have, but did not lodge a claim, could have topped the £4m mark.

According to the report the council has made settlement offers to 393 claimants, 375 of whom have accepted and received their payments.

However, it was also revealed that there are 1,082 existing employees who “could have but did not” lodge a claim.

Some who were entitled to equality pay did not make claims, despite UNISON making “extensive efforts” in West Dunbartonshire to draw members’ attention to the opportunity to submit a claim.

At the latest meeting a report came back, stating any payments to those who did not make a claim would be “irrationally generous” and “illegal”.

Labour group leader Cllr Martin Rooney tabled a motion stating the recommendations in the report “did not match” the intent of the original motion.

He added: “There is a significant number of employees who believe that they lost out on second wave equal pay claims.

“These employees have lost out on pay, not through their fault but through structural inequality. We have to do something about it.”

However, SNP depute leader, Cllr Caroline McAllister, accused Labour of “not taking any action” when they were last in power.

Cllr Jim Bollan said the council could make ex-gratia payments, adding: “We should treat employees with equality and dignity.”

SNP’s Dumbarton ward councillor Karen Conaghan said: “I don’t think anyone is happy about it but you (Labour councillors) had five years to address it but you would not get off your back sides and do something about it.”

Dumbarton Labour councillor David McBride said: “We have to try to resolve an injustice.

“We have a chance to do something about it.”

But Cllr McAllister said: “It’s deeply regrettable that we find ourselves in this position but there comes a point where we must move on.”

The debate did go to a roll call vote where the SNP won by 11 votes to eight, nailing shut any hopes of affected employees clawing back cash.

After the meeting Cllr Bollan said: “The SNP have made a monumental, moral, and political mistake by denying 1,028 low paid women workers equal pay.”

The SNP group defended its decision, and, attacking the previous administration for not picking up the tab.

A statement read: “The SNP administration ended the uncertainty and false hope given cynically to our employees by Labour and the Community Party.

“For the last two months, the Labour Party and Cllr Jim Bollan have claimed that they could get hundreds of employees a payment under equal pay; knowingly misleading these employees, many of whom are female workers on low grades.”

Cllr Rooney added: “I was astounded that the SNP councillors’ cold response to women who had been denied fair pay was basically to tell them ‘tough luck but you’re too late and we don’t want to pay’.”

“Low paid female workers will feel utterly betrayed by this SNP administration and will question whether they are fit to govern.”

'Backlash' on SNP

THE closing of the door by the SNP administration last week on equal pay has provoked a storm on social media.

Group leader Jonathan McColl, who did not take part in the debate after declaring an interest, and his SNP colleagues, nailed shut any hopes that additional employees who missed out on second wave claims would be reimbursed.

But the SNP is facing a backlash, although it claims Labour should have rectified the problem before they left office in May.

Vicky MacLennan said: “If the money is in the pot waiting to be paid out why was it even put in this pot in the first place?

“I, along with my colleagues, never received any notification from our unions about this until it came to light a few months ago that other people from other departments had received the pay out!

“Fair’s fair, give us what we are entitled to.”

Craig Edward added: “I attended last night [Wednesday] and sat in shock and deep concern from the public gallery.

“Not only was this meeting originally to be undemocratically held in private away from the press and public, it put the death nail in the coffin for hundreds of predominantly female, low paid workers - the backbone of our communities – from receiving money that they are entitled to.

The background

THE background to historic equal pay is complex and permeates at local authority level up and down the country.

West Dunbartonshire Council previously settled the first wave of equal pay claims, initially in 2006, then latterly in 2009.

During the “first wave era” the approach agreed in both tranches was to settle those with a valid claim, based on “emerging case law”.

The settlements were agreed outwith the Employment Tribunal Service.

Since 2009, though, council officers have been involved in Employment Tribunal case management in respect of a “second wave” of claims lodged at tribunal.

Some who were entitled to equality pay did not make claims, despite UNISON making “extensive efforts” in West Dunbartonshire to encourage members to submit a claim.

The law on equal pay is set out in the “equality of terms” provisions of the Equality Act 2010 (the Act), which gives a right to equal pay between women and men for equal work.

This covers individuals in the same employment, and includes equality in pay and all other contractual terms.

The Act implies a sex equality clause in all contracts of employment, ensuring that a woman’s contractual terms are no less favourable than a man’s.

The period for submitting a claim was up to five years from the last day of the unequal pay regime in 2012, meaning the deadline for an employee to submit a claim was March 31 2017.

Any claims submitted after this date would be time barred.

But Labour claim councillors were not made aware of the total number of claimants until after the deadline had passed, prompting them to raise the issue in the summer.

The SNP claims Labour could have resolved this issue.