North Cumbria NHS trust has spent a massive £3.3 million on lawyers in an
attempt to stop low-paid women winning equal pay.
Its huge expenditure of taxpayers’ money on legal action to resist fair wages,
places it among the highest spending NHS trusts on the issue.
The vast outlay is in shocking contrast to the earnings of some of the trust’s
own low-paid employees, such as cleaners and cooks, who earn £6.77 an
hour.
The public service union UNISON points out that the trust has spent more
than £1,000 for each of its employees.
Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary, urged management to negotiate a
way through rather than persist with a “scandalous waste of money”.
He added: “While North Cumbria is clearly one of the biggest spenders, it is
not alone. Trusts in other parts of the country are racking up lawyers’ fees
fighting equal pay. I would urge all of them to come to the negotiating table
as soon as possible and stop pouring money down the drain.”
Using Freedom of Information legislation, UNISON discovered that since April
2000 North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust, covering the
Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle and West Cumberland Hospital in
Whitehaven, spent £2,488,000 on private solicitors and barristers to oppose
equal pay claims.
The cost to the trust of the time spent by its own staff on the court
proceedings has hit £783,000 during the same period.
Management also concedes that its predecessor, the Carlisle Hospitals NHS
Trust, spent some £52,000 on outside lawyers engaged in similar legal action
although it is unable to discover the cost of time spent by its own staff.
Dave Prentis pointed out that the money spent on litigation would have
bought a whole range of vital services for the hospitals. “You could employ at
least 150 extra hospital cleaners or 100 extra nurses for a year with the cash
they have stuffed into lawyers’ wallets.” he said.
The money could also have bought: