Male workers raise pay challenge

The claims relate to workers including electricians and painters

Almost 50 Aberdeen City Council workers are bringing sex discrimination claims against the authority, BBC Scotland can reveal.

All the cases are from men who argue they have lost out financially to female colleagues.

The workers include blacksmiths, electricians, painters and scaffolders.

They say that compared to predominantly female clerical staff they suffered a substantial loss of basic pay and allowances in recent pay deals.

The cases have been lodged with the tribunals office.

Many of the issues have now been addressed under the terms of a recently agreed deal on equal pay.

However, union leaders argue compensation should be paid retrospectively for the previous five years.

A spokesman for the T&G branch of Unite told BBC Scotland that the discrimination laws were there to protect men as well as women and that the outcome of the tribunal claims could have implications for other councils.

Aberdeen City Council hopes to resolve the matter internally without the need to proceed to formal tribunal hearings.