Gender pay battle at Imperial War Museums
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Gender pay war has broken out at the Imperial War Museums after women were found to be paid up to £8,625 a year less than men on lower grades.
The world-famous museums at five locations, including three in London, boasts a gender pay gap of only 1.2%, but staff say it masks serious equal pay issues.
Now the Prospect union is parking its tanks on the museums’ lawns with test cases involving nine female members, which could lead to formal equal pay grievances.
Union officials say the pay structure allows them to pay men significantly more than women who are in the grades above them.
And if the museums bosses fail to find a solution the cases could go to an Employment Tribunal which can award up to six years of backdated pay if the cases are upheld.
Figures obtained by the union covering 467 staff show that 69.1% of women a are paid the same as, or less than, men one grade below them.
Nearly one in ten (9.3%) of women are paid the same as, or less than, men two grades below them
(compared to 4.5% of men) and two women were being paid the same as or less than men three grades below them.
Andy Bye, of Prospect, said:“While it is pleasing that the official gender pay gap at IWM is just 1.2%, looking only at this figure risks giving a totally distorted perspective on equal pay across the organisation.
“The figures we have seen show a far higher proportion of women than men being paid less than
those in lower grades, and far higher average salary gaps for women.
“IWM need to explain why these gaps exist and set out a strategy for making sure that they are tackling their equal pay problem as well as their gender pay gap.”
Last night a TUC spokesman said:“Having a small gender pay gap is important, but it doesn’t mean women are being paid equally with men.
“The Imperial War Museums need to stop the spin and explain why men and women aren’t getting the same rate. This means working with Prospect to resolve this issue.
“Our advice to women in this situation is to join a union. Unions have a great track record of winning equal pay for their members.”
A IWM spokesman said: " We don’t believe this small number of individual cases fairly reflect IWM’s position. However, we recognise the concerns raised by our trade unions and are in ongoing discussions with them to address historic overlaps in salary bandings which have resulted in some cases of pay difference.
"In 2016, IWM implemented a new pay structure. As a result, approximately a third of our staff received a pay rise. However, in some areas, the restructure has resulted in pay grade anomalies for some staff which we are working through with the individuals concerned."