WOMEN council workers have demanded a formal apology from an independent councillor after claiming he made "unfounded, insulting and derogatory" comments about female staff who took time off work due to stress.

Burnley Council's Women's Network group has called for action after Independent group leader Coun Harry Brooks drew attention to a report showing that by far the majority of staff who took time off through stress-related illness were women.

He described the condition as "taking sickies" and told a recent meeting of the town council it was the easiest thing in the world to get a doctor's certificate for stress.

The comments have got other white collar workers hot under the collar, with staff union Unison weighing in with its condemnation of Coun Brooks' views.

A statement to the Lancashire Evening Telegraph issued by branch secretary Peter Thorne says the branch "totally refutes slanderous allegations" against council employees by Coun Brooks.

"We are particularly concerned that Coun Brooks attacked the council for the number of women workers it employs, claiming that women are more often sick than men and that employing women is therefore making sickness levels higher.

"This is a totally ridiculous attack on 50 per cent of the population, never mind council employees and is totally unfounded."

He claimed Coun Brooks had twisted the report on stress levels to come up with his own conclusions.

"We would hope that Coun Brooks would apologise not just to female council employees but also the 50 per cent of your readers who are female for his outrageous slur on women."

Coun Brooks was unavailable for comment.

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