Equal Pay Equalizes Dissimilar Jobs
False Assumption: Women in predominantly female jobs like cooking and cleaning deserve the same pay and bonuses as men in more arduous male-dominated jobs like refuse collection to correct discrimination.
Written by FARAgent on February 11, 2026
In 2012, former Birmingham City Council employees, mostly women in roles like cooks, cleaners, and care staff, won a Supreme Court equal pay appeal. They argued for equal pay compared to bin men and road workers, who received bonuses for taxing jobs with labor shortages and unsociable hours. The council lost, leading to thousands of claims and £1.1 billion in payouts, with further liabilities up to £760 million.
Birmingham declared bankruptcy in 2023 via a Section 114 notice, citing equal pay costs among reasons for its negative fund position. To equalize pay without raising women's wages, the bankrupt council cut bin men's pay, including £1,000 in shift pay and £8,000 for top roles. Bin workers struck, leaving 17,000 tons of trash on streets, attracting rats, foxes, cockroaches, maggots, and risks like Weil's disease.
Growing evidence from the strike and bankruptcy raises questions about equal pay for dissimilar jobs. Critics argue it bankrupts councils and disrupts services, as refuse collection requires higher pay for its demands yet remains vulnerable to lawsuits due to its male workforce. Mainstream equal pay advocates defend it as correcting historical bias, but visible failures prompt debate on sustainability.
People Involved
- Lara Brown warned about the pitfalls of equal pay policies. In a Twitter thread, she predicted that efforts to equalize pay for similar work would bankrupt councils, slash pay in male-dominated jobs, and trigger national strikes in refuse collection. She played the role of a modern Cassandra, her alerts largely unheeded at the time. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (1)
“Equal pay for the same work is a hard won right that should be defended at al costs. But equal pay for similar work, as deemed by a judge, is madness. It will bankrupt businesses and councils, and make it impossible to provide basic services.”— Feminist theory has turned Birmingham, UK into a stinking rat's nest
Organizations Involved
Birmingham City Council pushed forward with equal pay adjustments after losing cases in the Supreme Court. The council paid out £1.1 billion in claims, declared bankruptcy in 2023, and reduced bin men's pay to match levels in female-dominated jobs like cooking and cleaning. This sparked a major strike. [1] The GMB union drove the equal pay claims by accusing the council of flawed job evaluations. Their actions derailed a £120 million settlement, escalating costs and contributing to the bankruptcy and subsequent pay cuts. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (2)
“Birmingham Council was found to have contravened equal pay legislation because they failed to provide bonuses to cooks, cleaners, catering and care staff, but did offer them to bin men, street cleaners, and grave diggers.”— Feminist theory has turned Birmingham, UK into a stinking rat's nest
“But this deal collapsed when the GMB union claimed it had found evidence the council was not properly implementing a crucial job evaluation scheme meant to ensure male and female employees were paid equally.”— Feminist theory has turned Birmingham, UK into a stinking rat's nest
The Foundation
The assumption took root with the 2012 Supreme Court ruling. The court decided that bonuses for male-dominated, physically demanding jobs like bin collection violated equal pay laws if not extended to female jobs such as cooking and cleaning. This seemed like a straightforward correction of bias at the time. [1] Yet growing evidence suggests the argument was flawed, as it overlooked differences in job demands, labor shortages, and market-driven pay variations. Proponents compared arduous roles with higher shortages to more popular ones, framing natural pay gaps as discrimination rather than reflections of difficulty. Increasingly, this view is recognized as misleading. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (2)
“They argued Birmingham City Council had provided lower pay to women in predominantly female jobs (cooks, cleaners & care staff) compared to refuse collectors and road workers.”— Feminist theory has turned Birmingham, UK into a stinking rat's nest
“The claimants drew a comparison between manually taxing jobs, with higher labour shortages, and unsociable hours (bin men) and more popular jobs like cooking and cleaning.”— Feminist theory has turned Birmingham, UK into a stinking rat's nest
How It Spread
Feminist equal pay ideas gained traction through unions like the GMB, key court rulings, and policies in Labour-run councils. These forces spread the dogma widely. [1] When unions challenged job evaluation schemes as improper, they collapsed potential settlements and amplified the push for equalization. Media coverage and academic discussions helped sustain the momentum, while dissent faced pushback in these circles. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (1)
“But this deal collapsed when the GMB union claimed it had found evidence the council was not properly implementing a crucial job evaluation scheme meant to ensure male and female employees were paid equally.”— Feminist theory has turned Birmingham, UK into a stinking rat's nest
Resulting Policies
UK equal pay laws and the Equality Act opened the door for claims that compared dissimilar jobs. This framework compelled Birmingham Council to issue a Section 114 bankruptcy notice in September 2023, overwhelmed by the costs of equalization. [1] After the 2012 ruling, the council dealt with thousands of claims. It disbursed £1.1 billion and leveled pay downward for male roles like Waste Recycling Officer to dodge further lawsuits. These decisions reshaped local government operations amid mounting financial strain. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (2)
“In September 2023 they issues a Section 114 notice declaring the council to be “in a negative General Fund position” due to “the cost of providing Equal Pay claims”.”— Feminist theory has turned Birmingham, UK into a stinking rat's nest
“Because they were bankrupt, there was only one way to do this, by cutting pay for refuse collectors.”— Feminist theory has turned Birmingham, UK into a stinking rat's nest
Harm Caused
The council shelled out £1.1 billion in equal pay claims, with another £760 million in liabilities looming. Bankruptcy followed, and bin men's pay dropped by up to £8,000 annually. [1] This triggered a strike that left 17,000 tons of trash rotting in Birmingham streets, drawing rats, foxes, cockroaches, and maggots. Risks of Weil's disease emerged amid the filth. The original £120 million settlement estimate ballooned after union interventions, forcing deep service cuts and exposing residents to health hazards. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (2)
“A standoff between striking refuse workers and city officials has left an estimated 17,000 tons of trash piled on city streets that is attracting rats, foxes, cockroaches and maggots.”— Feminist theory has turned Birmingham, UK into a stinking rat's nest
“Equal pay claims of up to £760m are among the bills it cannot afford. But since the extent of the crisis was revealed last month, it has emerged the council thought it could originally settle the matter for just £120m.”— Feminist theory has turned Birmingham, UK into a stinking rat's nest
Downfall
By 2023, the bankruptcy declaration marked a turning point. The ongoing bin strike, with its mountains of trash and vermin problems, highlighted the policy's shortcomings. [1] Pay cuts made it harder to hire bin men during labor shortages, fueling the crisis. Growing evidence suggests the assumption of equalizing dissimilar jobs ignored real-world economics, though the debate persists among experts. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (1)
“The Birmingham bin strike has reached its fifth week. Rubbish is piled high, rats are infesting the streets, and experts are concerned about Weil's disease.”— Feminist theory has turned Birmingham, UK into a stinking rat's nest
Sources
- [1]