Lara Brown

The Birmingham bin strike has reached its fifth week. Rubbish is piled high, rats are infesting the streets, and experts are concerned about Weil's disease. 

🧵on how the Equality Act contributed to this, and how it may cause similar strikes across the country. 

1/ In 2012, 174 former Birmingham Council employees brought an equal pay appeal to the Supreme Court.

They argued Birmingham City Council had provided lower pay  to women in predominantly female jobs (cooks, cleaners &amp; care staff) compared to refuse collectors and road workers. 

2/ They won their case. 

Birmingham Council was found to have contravened equal pay legislation because they failed to provide bonuses to cooks, cleaners, catering and care staff, but did offer them to bin men, street cleaners, and grave diggers. 

3/ This is not a case of women being paid less than men for the same work. 

The claimants drew a comparison between manually taxing jobs, with higher labour shortages, and unsociable hours (bin men) and more popular jobs like cooking and cleaning.

4/ Because they lost the case, Birmingham Council have had thousands of equal pay claims brought against them. 

So far, they have paid out £1.1 billion to former employees in equal pay compensation.

They estimated further liability in the region of £650m and £760m. 

5/ The first consequence of this is obvious - it caused the council to go bankrupt. 

In September 2023 they issues a Section 114 notice declaring the council to be “in a negative General Fund position” due to “the cost of providing Equal Pay claims”. 

6/ The second consequence - the council urgently had to equalise pay for bin men and catering staff - or risk further payouts. 

Because they were bankrupt, there was only one way to do this, by cutting pay for refuse collectors. 

7/ Birmingham Council have been finding ways to cut the pay of those in male dominated professions. 

Unite report they've cut £1,000 in shift pay already. They've also cut the highest paying refuse collection job-Waste Recycling and Collection Officer (an £8k pay cut for some) 

8/ The council is at a total impasse. They have to make these cuts - if they don't they risk further equal pay lawsuits.

They are bankrupt so they simply cannot afford to bring up the pay of cooks, social care workers, and cleaners instead.

9/ Birmingham won't be the only council to experience these problems. 

Refuse collection is tough work. Councils need to pay more in recognition of this. 

But, the workforce is also around 73% male. So will always be vulnerable to equal pay lawsuits. 

10/ Equal pay for the same work is a hard won right that should be defended at al costs. 

But equal pay for similar work, as deemed by a judge, is madness. 

It will bankrupt businesses and councils, and make it impossible to provide basic services. 