Union threatens to clog courts in fight for jobs

Unison has pledged to use the Equality Duty to take legal action against employers who do not carry out equality impact assessments before cutting jobs and public services – a move it believes will lead to a landslide of new legal claims.

The vast majority of public sector workers are women and the union said it is women who rely most heavily on public services, claiming that Government cuts will therefore have a disproportionate effect on them.

It has negotiated equal pay settlements for more than two million workers and has more than 30,000 equal pay claims currently live in the courts, some of which have dragged on for a number of years.

Unison General Secretary Dave Prentis said: "The vast majority of Unison members are women and we have spent decades fighting for equal pay and to ensure that women are treated fairly in the workplace.

"We will not stand back and see all that work undone by councils cutting jobs indiscriminately.

"The battle for Britain's public services could tie up our already overstretched legal system for decades."