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Labour chiefs at the now ‘effectively bankrupt’ Birmingham City Council were warned in advance that the authority could face\u00a0equal pay\u00a0claims\u00a0estimated at ‘between \u00a3300m and \u00a3800m’ after more than 3,000 GMB members\u00a0sued the council for its allegedly discriminatory pay policies.<\/p>\n
The huge liability has been a key reason behind the council’s declaration that it could not balance its books and was on the verge of ‘bankruptcy’.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However the council\u00a0went on to set a budget for the year ahead that gave the liability issue a ‘zero’ risk rating – after council leaders allegedly didn’t share the scale of the issue with councillors – it has now emerged.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Read more… <\/strong> Bankrupt council is proof you still can\u2019t trust Labour, says Greg Hands<\/strong><\/p>\n The council’s former leader Ian Ward, his then deputy Brigid Jones and current leader John Cotton were in an ‘inner circle’ of people who had been warned about the scale of the liability in “early February” by the city’s interim HR chief Darren Hockaday.\u00a0<\/p>\n The revelation emerged at a city council finance scrutiny meeting last week (Thursday, September 7).\u00a0 It is claimed that the\u00a0information about equal pay exposure was not shared with the council or other members.<\/p>\n The council subsequently went on to set its budget for the year ahead just weeks later. The budget did acknowledge that there was possibly a \u00a3270 million for equal pay liability – but said\u00a0there was a zero per cent risk of it impacting its budget.<\/p>\n However, the\u00a0liability is actually somewhere between \u00a3650m and \u00a3760m – and is growing\u00a0at a rate of between \u00a35 million and \u00a314 million per month – the\u00a0Council’s Chief Executive Deborah Cadman announced in June.\u00a0<\/p>\n This huge sum was a key factor in the council declaring, by\u00a0issuing a Section 114 Notice, that it is\u00a0effectively bankrupt and can\u2019t manage its financial affairs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Don’t miss… <\/strong> The revelation that the city’s senior Labor leaders knew about the scale of the liability – and allegedly down-played it – has infuriated rival political parties in the city.\u00a0\u00a0Birmingham Conservatives leader, Cllr Robert Alden,\u00a0 pushed his Labour counterpart\u00a0John Cotton\u00a0to apologise to the people of the city, reported Birmingham Live.<\/p>\n “Apologise to the residents, to your colleagues and to the staff who are going to lose their jobs because this administration did not do their jobs,” demanded Alden.\u00a0<\/p>\n Cotton replied: “We all regret the situation we are in now – we now have to ensure we protect frontline services and tackle inequalities. We will take responsibility for those issues we are responsible for.”<\/p>\n We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n Tory Deputy Leader Cllr Ewan Mackey said: \u201cLabour\u2019s addiction to secrecy and unwillingness to face up to and tackle tough decisions is a big reason the council is in such as big mess and it is the residents of Birmingham who will be paying the price for this shameful behaviour for years, and even decades to come.\u201d<\/p>\n Regarding the equal pay liability, GMB organiser Michelle MCrossen said last week: \u201cAfter years of campaigning and years of stalling from the Council, Birmingham\u2019s women workers will take strength from knowing that they will finally have their day in court.<\/p>\n \u201cBut Birmingham City Council doesn\u2019t have to wait another 14 months to end the discrimination and settle this dispute \u2013 they should sit down with GMB and sort this out now.<\/p>\n \u201cThat would be the right thing to do for the thousands of women workers whose hard-earned wages have been stolen from them, but it\u2019s also the right thing to do for the Council to save money and secure the future of the city\u2019s services.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s time for the Council leadership to finally do what\u2019s best for Birmingham and deliver pay justice.”<\/p>\n
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