and now on bbc news it's disclosure. tonight on disclosure, the battle waged by thousands of council workers for equal pay. we meet the winners... i can go in and get what i want, do you know what i mean? never been able to do that, just go in and say, "right, i'm paying it off, cash." and the losers... there's people worked for 30 years and not even knew to put in a claim. we ask whether the unions did their best for the women they're meant to represent. women members. have they lost out? no. really? no. i don't believe that's the case at all. well, that's not what they say. well, they might say that, but i don't think they're right. we investigate the secret deal done behind closed doors... why are you making such a fuss about it? well, because... the women aren't. ..i know what the promise was. ..and ask why it has taken the council so long to do the right thing. do you think glasgow city council failed the women? yes, corporately, glasgow city council, as a body, undoubtedly did.

there's no question. i'm on my way to meet a woman i haven't seen in almost 15 years. hers was a landmark case. it was the case that i think everybody was watching and waiting for. so it will be interesting to see... find out what actually happened. that case was evelyn imrie's. a schooljanitor in edinburgh, i first met her in 2005 when i was investigating equal pay. i de—litter the grounds on this side of the hedge and the janitor from the primary school next door de—litters at this side of the hedge. and we don't get the same rate of pay.

evelyn earned a lower hourly rate and was denied the same perks as the men doing exactly the samejob. a clear—cut example of a council flouting the principles of the equal pay act. equal pay for work of equal value. evelyn launched legal action and won. oh, my goodness. you've not changed at all! neither have you, sam. you haven't changed at all either. how nice to see you. how are you doing? oh, it's lovely to see you. i remember talking to you at the time, and it really affected you. yes. you know, the fight really affected you. yes, of course it did. because i was on my own. i was on my own. yeah, because today there are women in their numbers fighting this. yes. so that's the difference. yes. what would you say to the women today who are having that fight? keep fighting. and, you know, evelyn's case really

was a landmark case. it was the watershed moment. and yet here we are, 14 years and millions of pounds later, and women council workers are still being discriminated against and underpaid. and they want to know why. i want to know why. the equal pay battle has been fought in almost every council in the country. the longest running? glasgow, where, after 14 years and one of the biggest strikes ever seen in the uk over equal pay, the city council has agreed to settle. we were on this road, i wanted to sing the song 500 miles. we're here, and we would have walked 500 more to get our equal pay. yeah! the city's now facing a massive bill — half a billion pounds in compensation. the headlines would have you believe

that the battle's over. music: every i's a winner by hot chocolate. in june this year, the cheques began to arrive in the post... ..some receiving offers of up to £200,000. for many, it's been life—changing. frances. sam from the bbc. nice to meet you. how are you doing? hi. i'm good. oh, my goodness! that's my tv wall. that's where the tvs going up. right, i've just spotted the... what size is that television? 75 inches. 75? yeah. that's going to go up here. it'll be like sitting in the cinema. right. that's going to be up here. that's my kitchen. fridge—freezer. fantastic.

and that's going to be an island. bar stools. that's the machine. that's the dishwasher. there's going to be a big chimney there as well. cannae wait! i'm going to have a wee girls‘ night when we get it all done with all my pals. aye, so we can all celebrate together. it's good just to say, "right, i can go in and get what i want," do you know what i mean? fantastic. never been able to do that, just go in and say, "right, i'm paying it off, cash." yes! under scots law... they are entitled to five years back pay from the date of their clean. but because glasgow city council's taken so long to settle, claimants are entitled to compensation for every year remains unresolved. it means women like francis are receiving checks for more

than a decade of discrimination. that's money they've rubbed off us. that's money they've rubbed off us. that is money we worked hard for. —— robbed of us. how much did you get? i can't tell you. the city council says. it is in our clause that we aren't allowed to say how much we get. if we tell anybody they will take it off us. how do you know what you got was fair? we don't. other women are still getting their settlement letters. how are you feeling? nervous. what does it look like? show me. they came through this morning, it's a big envelope. you haven't deemed it open, you haven't actually opened this. not at all. how many years has been in the making? 12 years. too long. i have a friend up the road who died waiting. that's too long.

what does it mean to you? hopefully i won't need to go out and do overtime so i spent time with my husband and my daughter, hopefully thatis husband and my daughter, hopefully that is what it means. i am not sure because we are not allowed to tell each other we got. you can tell me what is in there. well, here we go. oh gosh, 0k. here goes. don't know what is the front and the back. 0k. certainly a lot of pages, guys. 0k. the paperwork simply states a figure, there are no details as to how the sum is being worked out what deductions have been made. it is an offer helen realises she will have to ta ke offer helen realises she will have to take on trust. well, i have to

break it down but i am not one of the ones swinging from the trees, but it is not as low as i expected but it is not as low as i expected but i have to look through my hours and my overtime, but i am not one of these people running out to buy their houses or cars or anything like that. they don't tell us how they worked it out so i still feel blindfolded and gagged, you can talk to your colleagues or out with family members. why? why? something is wrong there. i would love to tell you but they would take my money off you. the most of the climate in the current settlement can receive is 12 yea rs current settlement can receive is 12 years compensation. yet post after post on a facebook page suggests many women are receiving far less and are very unhappy. i meet up with helen again who introduces me to

fiona and audrey. all three are care workers and all have worked for a glasgow city council for more than 12 years. the owner and audrey have only received compensation for five yea rs of only received compensation for five years of equal pay. we have worked alongside them and for all these yea rs alongside them and for all these years and you are only getting five yea rs, years and you are only getting five years, there is no equality in that. we stood on the picket lines for equality and we didn't get it. there was even go as he did not know to put ina was even go as he did not know to put in a claim. people worked for 30 yea rs put in a claim. people worked for 30 years and didn't even know how to put ina years and didn't even know how to put in a claim. whose fault is that? unions. and a lot of the lasses working don't see anything so how are you meant to get it passed on. your unions but did they advise you? no. we took the dues. they didn't wa nt no. we took the dues. they didn't

wanta stamp no. we took the dues. they didn't want a stamp to tell us to make a claim. some claims were going in, though, by a firm called action 4 equality, for years a thorn in the side of local authorities, pursuing equal pay cases against them. so far, it's successfully represented 300,000 cases around the uk, reaching settlements of almost £4 billion. i last interviewed its director stefan cross 11! years ago when, he says, the unions were campaigning against them. hello. how are you? it's been some time. thank you so much. i really appreciate it. thank you. we had the trade unions picketing meetings to stop people getting in to hear about the equal pay struggle. when we say to stop people getting in, to stop the women from getting in? yeah. they often told the women that it would cost them theirjobs, or other people'sjobs, if they pursued their cases, or it would bankrupt the council.

it was a guilt trip against the women to dissuade them from pursuing these cases. i ask him about what fiona and audrey in glasgow had told me — that many women were only receiving five years' compensation. so you have half the women getting their 13 years' worth of claim, and the other half getting a maximum of five years of claim, because their claims were not put in at the right time. whose fault is that? that's just... but who didn't put the claims in? well, they didn't put the claims in. the trade unions will say, "we did tell our members, "they just didn't listen. " and it is a legal requirement that each individual must make their own decision as to whether they pursue a claim. so that's the technical defence to the position. however, it's undoubtedly the case that there was not a campaign by the trade unions in the early days to put in cases. and as a result, how many women have lost out? there are literally tens

of thousands of women who have missed out. and it seems it's notjust women in glasgow who may have lost out. alison martin runs dm legal, a claims company in wishaw. she's preparing to take on the unions for their behaviour during the equal pay fight. this is an old hairdresser‘s, you said ? yes, old hairdresser‘s. do you want to come through? yes, absolutely. they're there to fight for the people, the normal working—class people, they're meant to protect these people. the unions are meant to be there to kick up a big storm about it and make sure people are getting treated properly. and did you find that was not the case? really, really, really, you know, i cannae emphasise it any more, it's the opposite of the case. this is where you keep the evidence?

this is where you keep the evidence? this is where we keep the case files. this one says they've never been told anything from their union. is that a common theme? it is quite a common theme. dm legal now says it is preparing action against the unions. you're suing them? we are suing them. unison, unite, jm b. we are suing them. breach of contract, negligence. failure of care, breach ofjudiciary duty. you could go on and on. part of any case will include testimony from former union officials. we have union reps were told they were told not to accompany them or prep them for the hearing or give them any advice, stay out of it. they didn't say we can't represent use of don't pay your “— say we can't represent use of don't pay your —— so don't pay your fees. the union reps told you this? yes,

don't believe them. one of those union reps was robert robertson, a former unison senior official for south lanarkshire. hi. nice to see you. thank you so much for agreeing for me to coming round. you're welcome. in you come. through here? yeah, just turn right. these women deserve full equality, and the strange thing is, you have a union that should be based on equality that's actually sending me out to promote unequality. if a member came to you, you were to say what? "you do not have a claim. "we have done ourjob evaluation and all the rest of it. "it's over and done with." "you do not have a claim"? yep. that was what you were instructed to say? that was set in stone. "you do not have a claim." if it had been a fair fight all along, then you're going to have winners and losers, but to have winners and losers because the middlemen, the union, the negotiators, were telling them... and they believed it. they pay their union money, they believe you're there to do your best for them. and we weren't. and that is... one of the things that hurts me

is that i was being encouraged not to do my best for these women. and it's just... i find that scandalous. what i've heard sounds like the unions acting against the women's best interest. but why would they do that? carol fox was the solicitor who worked alongside stefan cross in many local authority equal pay cases across scotland. i've seen documents where the employer noted that they had agreement from the unions not to put claims in, to allow further time for negotiations. they didn't even give the women the information that they had equal pay claims. they didn't lodge the equal pay claims for the women. and they had one hand tied behind their back, because they had a concern for the higher—earning male bonus—earners, who were also members of the union. so, from the outset, the unions were conflicted. she says the unions only began to put claims in for the women around 2006, after seeing the success of companies like action 4 equality, who were taking on council after council and winning.

that's when they became aware that that was going to happen in scotland and that they had to do something about it. so, some of the unions eventually put in claims for the women, more to protect their own interests from being sued for not taking cases than really enthusiastically on behalf of the women. i wondered how the unions — gmb, unison and unite — would answer to all of this. your women members, have they lost out during this fight because of gmb's inaction? no, i don't believe so. really? no, i don't believe that's the case at all. well, that's not what they say. well, they might say that, but i don't think they're right. and at the end of the day... but there are women who are gmb members who are saying, "because my claim wasn't submitted, because the gmb failed to act in my best interests, i'm only receiving five years..." no, i don't... "my colleague's receiving 12 years." no, no, that's not true. really? and you would... categorically, you would need to bring individual cases to us that we would look at,

if you're going to make that allegation, because i would say it's not right. 0k. we were given the wrong legal advice, we took the wrong cases at the start or we did not pursue the same cases as the private lawyers, or indeed one of the other unions. but our members were not left at a detriment in the end. that's the matter of... that is a matter of fact. did some of your women members lose out in equal pay deals? so, some union members and some employees generally missed out, because the system is individual. people need to consent to have somebody act for them, they need to lodge a personal claim. were you, as a union, proactive in telling your women members, "you are eligible for a claim"? or, "you can puta claim in, "go and puta claim in"? i can say that with confidence. you were proactive? i wrote the letters. i wrote, personally, letters to every single unison member on more than one occasion, and in glasgow we did it repeatedly. and what of the allegations

of negligence by former unison reps, including telling women they didn't have a claim? well, i have no knowledge of that. nobody has ever put those particular allegations to me before, and i would find them very hard to believe. is unison facing legal action from some of its own members? at the moment, to my knowledge... ..over what happened? ..there are no live cases against us. really? to my knowledge, there are no live cases. there are people who say that they intend to, but nobody, at the moment, to my knowledge, is currently suing us. the third union involved, unite, said it didn't accept that members had been left... it said it was... any potential claim, it added, would be...

there's another troubling allegation against all three unions, this time over what the women were told about any compensation they won. here's an advert from the gmb, stating... ..that there will be "no hidden charges. "100% of any future awards will go to you," to the union member. unite, exactly the same. "unite members will keep 100% of compensation paid out." unison said exactly the same. the small print in the glasgow settlement, however, tells a different story. it says legal fees have been deducted, and from all claimants. did you know you were going to be paying legalfees? all: no. so, the first you knew about this was when you received these offers? all: yes. we were told that everything was... we didn't have to pay anything. because what are our union fees for? because they've done nothing but let us down. i feel really proud of the work that i did for these women.

it meant a lot to me. although carol fox stopped practising in 2015, and so had no part in the final negotiations for the glasgow deal, she'd spent the previous seven years working on the case. and i'm really troubled by aspects of this glasgow settlement, particularly in relation to the trade union women, who have paid fees after they were told that they would eventually be backed by their trade union. and it doesn't appear to me that they've been told the detail of what they've paid, and who they've paid it to, and what it's been for. only action 4 equality, led by stefan cross, said upfront to the women it represented that legal fees would be deducted from any pay—out. now women represented by their unions are asking questions. somebody‘s put a post up asking what percentage stefan cross is charging. and he responds, saying it's 6.9% across the board.

and somebody says, "what you mean by across the board?" and he says, "it means everyone pays the same — all claimants." the total sum being paid out as part of the glasgow deal is a reported £548 million. if the legal fees are sitting at around the 6.9% mark... yes, well, do your own maths, then. ..that‘s around £38 million. it's not as... it's not as much as that. we're talking many, many millions of pounds. many, many millions of pounds, yes. yes. and those fees are being paid by who? they're being paid by everybody. all the claimants. it's a team effort. this was a union proposal. they started off... the unions proposed this deal? the union proposal was that we had to agree parity to start with. the cost of that is that fees had to be paid somehow. and this is the most fair, most beneficial way for everybody,

that we did it on that basis. so that i'm clear, then — the women members, the union women members, the 6.9% that they're paying, isn'tjust paying their union legalfees, it's paying action 4 equality‘s legal fees. everybody‘s legal fees. everybody. everybody‘s legal fees. spread across all? everybody‘s fees. are you allowed to take money off people who are not your clients? we had this discussion with the trade unions. every single agreement includes a legal commitment to make that payment. what's angering some women i've spoken to, though, is that the detail of this was never fully explained to them. i bet you got told numerous times that i deserved every penny that i got. and more. yes, you're absolutely right. thank you. yeah. absolutely. well, then, why are you making such a fuss about it? well, because... because the women aren't. ..i know what the promise was. they know what the promise was... and i know what the women were told. honestly, anybody could ask these questions. yeah.

you're stirring a pot, in my view, that has not been a pot that's upset anybody up to today. but that's. .. you know, that yourjob. are your members paying legal fees as part of the settlement? to us? no. that's not what i asked. no, i don't believe they are. are your members paying legal fees as part of the settlement? i don't believe... my understanding is there is settlement arrangement, it's subject to a confidentiality agreement. there is... which is not meeting any of our fees. our members are having not a penny taken off the final offer that they were made. and in terms of... it's always been very clearly explained to people that there is a complex formula which works this out, in terms of settlement, and people have got good deals. and if any of the women have an issue with their claim or their union fees or any of the rest of it, they contact us and we will look at it, and we will deal with it fairly. why are the women paying legal fees? the women aren't paying legal fees. really? yeah.

so, there is a settlement formula, and the settlement formula is confidential. but in terms of going into the detail of it, i think... i mean, i have to be mindful of the confidential nature of the agreement. it's a secret formula. confidentialformula. it's a confidential formula. yeah, ok. and there are good business reasons and legal reasons for that. unite told us their lawyers had been... as to how the settlements were calculated, it was, they said... this is more than half a billion pounds of public money, remember, and yet they won't tell me where it's gone, how it's been spent, how it's been worked out, because the formula, they keep saying, is confidential. we also asked glasgow city council for the settlement breakdown. it too said the details

were confidential. a newjob evaluation scheme is planned, with a pledge to equalise the pay of men and women by 2021. until then, glasgow city council, now run by the snp, will have to continue paying millions in compensation. these are some of the words women have used to describe this. scandalous, embarrassing, patronising, unequal, insulting, a shambles. i would disagree with very little of that. that's. .. it's precisely because it was scandalous and unjust and unequal that i took it on. we knew it was something that we had to do, precisely because of those things. do you think glasgow city council failed the women? erm, i think that... yes, corporately. glasgow city council, as a body, undoubtedly did, there's no question.

running a city isn't easy. i'm not here for an easy life. this is what we committed to, and this is what we'll see through. when i first investigated equal pay, i could never have imagined the battle would still be dragging on 11! years later. in glasgow, it's cost more than half a billion pounds, and yet it's only half a story, half a bill. the final total, an estimated £1 billion. many of those who began the fight are no longer here. almost 200 claimants have died whilst waiting for their compensation, for their equality.

hello there, england and wales has already had a month's hello there, england and wales has already had a months worth of rain in the last two or three weeks but the outlook is somewhat drier. we are going to find high pressure shaping our weather. the fly in the ointment for the start of the week is low pressure in the near continent and it is going to be getting closer and threatened rain. most of the rain has been in northern england, a cold day in the north—east of england for the lot of cloud. sunshine here in hampshire in the new forest and it has felt better. if you look at the satellite picture with the radar you can see the extent of the cloud from early on. showers across northern scotland, this is the main cloudy zone across northern england where we have occasional rain, especially damp in the north—east of england and cold to the many other areas sing a little bit of sunshine

although temperatures were lower than they were yesterday. a lot of the showery rain will fade away overnight. a lot of cloud is coming in from the near continent and that threatens rain for the south—east corner of england. with cloud, across england and wales it should be milder and clearer skies in scotland, there will be a frost in the scottish glen. sunny start. special near the coast, some rain. as version showers will continue to fade away, should see the cloud breaking up, temperatures about 10 degrees for the central belt. england and wales are still dominated by this high pressure, overnight and into tuesday. a stronger breeze across northern areas, it will tend to lift the temperatures but it will be cold out tuesday for england and wales, not far away from freezing and there will be patches of fog across southern areas. that will linger right the way through the morning. perhaps we will see such a developing once that fog does go

across england and wales. a little bit more cloud further north, some rain dripped into the highlands and islands but some sunshine coming through around the moray firth, should be a lovely day and those temperatures are ii—50d. as we head to as the middle part of the week, signs of change by the northern areas of the uk —— ii—isd. this weather front could bring areas of the uk —— ii—isd. this weatherfront could bring one areas of the uk —— ii—isd. this weather front could bring one or two showers, four south—eastern areas, most rain coming in from the south—west of scotland and northern ireland. that rain peters out for thursday and temperatures will rise across southern parts of the uk and who is the end of the week, we could get highs of 70 or 80 degrees for england and wales with some sunshine. see you later. —— seven or eight.

this is bbc news i'm lukwesa burak, the headlines at three: the government says it's pressing ahead with efforts to pass a brexit deal this week in spite of a letter the prime minister was forced to send to brussels last night asking for a delay. we are going to leave on october the 315t, we have the means and the ability to do so. the prime minister's determination is absolute, and i am with him in this — we must leave on october the 315t. labour say whatever deal gets through the house of commons should be subject to a second referendum. whether it's this deal or any future deal, it's got to go back so the public and say, do you want to leave on these terms? and if so, then we do, if not, we remain. a double murder investigation has begun after two 17—year—old boys