Forty-two security men at University College Cork, have won €1.27 million in an equal pay claim. They won the award on the basis that they did work of equal value with telephone operators at the university, who were mainly women and earned €63.49 a week more.
It is the largest equal pay award granted to a group of male workers on the basis of indirect discrimination, although there have been several larger awards conceded to groups of women workers.
Yesterday the Labour Court found that security men did different work to telephone operators but it was of equal value. It ordered UCC to backdate payments to three years before the date of the claim, or whenever the security men were first employed.
The court seems to have made an exemplary award because the college appealed the original decision by an equality officer in 1997 and failed to provide an effective rebuttal at the court hearings.
SIPTU branch secretary Mr Gene Mealy, who represented the workers, estimated that most of them would receive between €19,046 and €25,394 each in back money.
"The difference in weekly pay, together with shift premium and overtime rates, means our members can expect to receive substantial sums of money in retrospection as a result of winning their case", he said.
"We are delighted with the outcome of our claim. It has been a long and difficult journey, but I'm glad that the work which our members do will now be recognised as being of equal value to that of the comparator grade.
"I am calling on UCC as an equal opportunities employer and as an academic establishment committed to the principle of equality to implement the award immediately," said Mr Mealy.
The claim was lodged exactly four years ago yesterday and an equality officer ruled in favour of the security workers in August 1999. The officer agreed with the union that there was prima facie evidence of discrimination.