Largest ever strike over equal pay

Largest ever strike over equal pay

8,000 Glasgow-based workers have stopped working for two days in the latest part of the dispute over equal pay – The Guardian reports.

The workers, mostly female cleaners, were joined by male refuse workers, who refused to cross picket lines - boundaries established by workers on strike which others are asked not to cross.

The dispute has lasted a decade. The cleaners, roles largely taken up by women, are paid up to £3-an-hour less than men in broadly equivalent roles in Glasgow.

It is thought to be the largest strike in history over equal pay. Back payments are thought to total hundreds of millions of pounds.

Equal pay has been enshrined in UK sex discrimination law for the past 40 years.

It is the right for men and women to be paid the same for the same, or equivalent, work. It now forms part of the Equality Act 2010.



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