GLASGOW City Council and local trade unions have reached an agreement to end the city’s long-standing £500 million equal pay dispute.

SNP council leader Susan Aitken has confirmed that an offer has been brokered between the council and the trade unions representing thousands of mostly female workers.

“After a decade of obstruction and inaction, in a relatively short space of time we have now reached agreement which delivers the pay justice these women long have fought for,” Ms Aitken said on Thursday evening.

The agreement follows a walkout for equal pay by over 8,000 Glasgow council workers in October.

Around 12,500 staff are still proceeding with claims against the council after a court ruling heard in 2017 that female workers had been discriminated against.

In 2006, the council formally adopted the Workforce Pay and Benefit Review, which was intended to ensure that men and women received equal pay for jobs of the same value.

However, many women were still paid £3 an hour less than men in similar roles.

The women are now expected to receive an average of £35,000 in compensation under the new agreement.

However, the council has warned that, before payments are made, it must consider “tough choices” in cutting its budget.

GMB Scotland organiser Hazel Nolan said: “This is a significant moment and is recognition of the value of women in this city, brought about by the women themselves understanding their own value and fighting for it together.

“What is important now is that the claimants and their families can have confidence in this agreement and in the process of delivery in the coming weeks and months.”