EQUAL pay disputes threatening to bankrupt councils across Scotland must lead to the creation of a new government body that can enforce payments, a GMB Scotland rep has said.

The call came after nearly 500 council staff went on strike in Falkirk, Renfrewshire and West Dumbartonshire this week, while workers doing similar jobs in Dundee, Perth and Kinross, Angus, Fife and Moray are also embroiled in ongoing disputes over equal pay.

The strikes were against a pay grading system which they say leaves women worse off than workers in comparable male-dominated jobs and followed walkouts by more than 8,000 female carers, caterers and cleaners in Glasgow in 2018.

That dispute resulted in the biggest equal pay strike in British history and Glasgow council has still to settle its £500 million bill in full.

The GMB union represents many of the women bringing claims and has ongoing equal pay disputes with a number of other councils in England, including Coventry and Cumberland.

GMB Scotland secretary Louise Gilmour said the country’s councils were approaching these claims “like the Titanic approaching the iceberg.” 

She called on the Scottish government to create a new specialist body to settle equal pay claims nationwide and enforce payments.

The union said workers could claim up to five years of back pay worth millions of pounds in the event of a successful equal pay claim — which would bankrupt many authorities.

The GMB is expected to lead to pay reviews at more than a dozen other local authorities across Scotland.

The Scottish government was contacted for comment.

Spokespeople for Falkirk and Renfreshire’s Health and Social Care Partnership said talks with unions were continuing.

West Dunbartonshire Council said it was “committed to fair pay for home carers.”

In England, Bristol City Council’s chief executive this week warned that it must roll out reforms to special needs education to avoid being bankrupted. 

With its education budget overdrawn by £56m — a figure that is expected to rise to £114m by 2028 — the government has agreed to write off £54m of deficit, subject to the authority following conditions on the reform of Send support.

Council chief executive Stephen Peacock said: “If we get this wrong, we will be effectively bankrupt.”

Local authorities including Woking, Nottingham and Birmingham issued a  section 114 notice, effectively declaring themselves bankrupt, last year.

Birmingham City Council said it was unable to balance its books in part due to equal pay claims.