Quality | 2009.06.08
Public school workers win pension fight
Dozens of low-paid women workers at a leading public school are celebrating after gaining equal pension rights following a 10-year legal battle.
The victory against the two Haberdashers\' schools for boys and girls in Monmouth, south Wales, will see more than £150,000 paid out to the part-time workers, who were denied access to the school\'s pension scheme.
However, full-time male staff, working in similar roles, were allowed to join on a voluntary basis.
In a pay claim taken to employment tribunals in 1998, the women claimed that the school was discriminating against them because of their sex and was in breach of equal pay and sex discrimination legislation.
Their union, Unison, successfully argued that pensions are deferred pay, with the non-contributory scheme, based on final salary, being worth about £1,300 a year for eight years for each worker, plus a lump sum.
The 27 claimants, many of whom are now retired, will receive between £1,500 and £17,000 each after the claim was settled just days before a tribunal hearing.
Between them, the workers carried out a variety of roles such as house parents, administrators, assistant matrons, cooks and cleaners. Their claims covered the period when the pension scheme was changed, between 1976 and 1999.
But retired cleaner Kay Bamford died before a settlement was reached after working at one of the schools for more than 10 years. Tess Taylor, 70, from Monmouth, worked as an assistant matron for 27 years before retiring in 1999. She said: "I think this is a large victory for small people. This must be a landmark case and we are glad to have won after all these years. But I find it crazy that a satisfactory offer from the school was only made days before the tribunal took place.
"With more goodwill and co-operation from Monmouth school this could have been sorted way before now and there would be less ill feeling."
Dominic MacAskill, a Unison organiser who has worked on the claim for the last six years, said: "I have been deeply impressed by the dignity and determination that these low-paid women workers have shown in their campaign for justice. They have demonstrated that workers standing united in their union can take on, and win against, the most powerful establishment in their community."
Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, said: "I am pleased that we have got justice for our members at last.
"But it has taken over a decade, which shows how desperately we need a speeded up system to deal with equal pay claims.
"The school dragged out the case and probably spent more in legal costs than it did to settle the dispute with their loyal workers. It is also very sad that one of the retired women died before she could benefit from the win."
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009[...]gal-battle-school-haberdashers
