FEMALE workers employed by Scottish councils lose thousands of pounds a year due to pay discrimination, according to new figures yesterday.

 

The data revealed that female employees are paid on average 15 per cent less a year compared with their male counterparts, which amounts to a staggering £3,848 a year. 

 

The figures, taken from information provided by 28 Scottish councils, showed average salaries as £25,770 for men and £21,922 for women.

 

The pay gap in local authorities is larger than the average for Scotland, which stands at 11.5 per cent for full-time workers. 

 

Senior policy and campaigns officer at the Fawcett Society Polly Trenow said progress on closing the pay gap had “stalled in both the private and public sector.” She called for a “real commitment” from the government and employers, coupled with “action from women and men at work” to “speed up progress towards the day when we can consign [the gap] to history.”

 

Ms Trenow urged employers to commit themselves to paying the living wage, and advertise jobs “at all levels as flexible, part-time or job-share unless there is a strong business case not to.”

 

She urged the government to tackle the £2,000 pay gap in apprenticeships, invest in affordable and flexible childcare and “give women access to justice by removing harmful employment tribunal fees.”

 

A spokesman for Cosla, the umbrella organisation for Scottish councils, said that they were “working hard to ensure that all our employees receive a fair wage for their valuable work.”