Unions deny wrong advice over Dudley Council payouts
Two workers' unions have spoken out after claims hundreds of women were let down in their battle for equal pay settlements from Dudley Council.
Almost 200 female former and current employees attended a meeting to voice their anger at unions and the council over the payouts they received.
Many of the women, which include catering staff, cleaners and care assistants, claim they were not given the right advice from union representatives – arguing they should have been offered more.
They say they could have got up to £85,000 each, but instead received as little as a few hundred pounds from the claims first made in 2010.
But Andrew Maybury, secretary for Dudley General branch of UNISON, defended the union today, claiming the advice given to each affected woman was correct.
Mr Maybury said: "UNISON's solicitors advised the people who had received initial offers from the employers to reject them.
"However, many people chose to go against their advice and accepted the offers and legally signed away their rights to make further claims.
"Those people who followed the advice of the union's solicitors and rejected the initial offers have, by and large, received larger settlement offers."
He added: "It is the view of Dudley General Branch of UNISON that members did receive appropriate legal advice and that that advice has subsequently proved to be correct.
"We do not feel that we can be held responsible for those members who chose to reject the legal advice they were given."
Gordon Gibbs, secretary for the Dudley branch of GMB, also disputed the women's claims.
He said: "The council did settle cases we were involved in, but it is untrue to say we told every person to accept, there were instances we told them not to take an offer. Obviously, every case was different and each one was treated on its own accord."
Among the women at the meeting on Tuesday night was Alison Darke, a care assistant at Dudley Council for nine years. The 47-year-old, from Halesowen, accepted a settlement for her equal pay claim two years ago for £1,200. The UNISON member claims she could have got £85,000. She said: "The union solicitor did recommend we reject it, but we never knew the full picture and how much we could realistically win."
