GLASGOW City Council has resolved an equal pay dispute stretching back over a decade.
The ÂŁ548 million settlement will address equal pay claims with nearly 16,000 current and former female employees.
Council leader Susan Aitken last month reached an agreement in principle to correct the historic injustice, with the council's administration ratifying the final agreement today.
The women are expected to start receiving payments in June, averaging ÂŁ34,000 but in some cases reaching as high as ÂŁ100,000.
While the majority of claims have come from female staff, a small number of men, including 300 janitors, have also raised claims.
READ MORE:Â Council set to sell popular Glasgow venues to fund equal pay
Some women say they were historically paid ÂŁ3 an hour less than men in similarly graded roles.
Ending Labour's long run in control of the local authority at the last council elections, Aitken pledged to bring the dispute to an end.
Under that party, successive administrations had spent more than ÂŁ2.5 million fighting the claims.
Despite SNP pledges, thousands of affected workers took to the streets in a major demonstration late last year, claiming talks had stalled and calling for action.
Today Aitken said: "I'm delighted to have won backing for a deal that finally delivers pay justice for thousands of women in our workforce.
"When I became council leader in 2017, I promised I'd bring to an end more than a decade of inaction on equal pay.
"A year ago, we began negotiations and, today, the council formally agreed a plan to pay women at Glasgow City Council what they are owed.
"That starts to put right a wrong that has damaged the council, its workforce and the city for too long.
"I want to thank the women for their determination; their dedication to the city and its people, and for trusting me to deliver what they have always deserved."
I walked into the Chambers this afternoon to see women hugging, cheering + celebrating outside.
— Rhiannon Spear (@RhiannonV) February 7, 2019
So proud to be part of @SusaninLangside's team today.
The SNP did it.
We ended decades of inequality + injustice for these women in Glasgow. 💛💪 https://t.co/RmOULWO2xy
However, the costly payouts have forced the SNP administration to rethink the city's finances.
Councillors have now given officers the go-ahead to use property assets to secure loans to meet the cost of settling pay claims.
City Property Glasgow Investments LLP, a council-owned arm's-length external organisation, is currently talking to lenders about refinancing a loan originally taken in 2010 to release "significant" additional value due to a growth in the value of its assets and more favourable interest rates.
The council will also sell Commonwealth Games venue Emirates Arena, visitor favourite Riverside Museum and the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and other key buildings to City Property and then lease them back at a commercial rate.
The purchase will be funded by long-term loans, with the lease payments meeting the annual cost of the borrowing, and keep the assets in city ownership.
Users "will not see any difference in how they access them on a day-to-day basis", it is claimed.
Aitken said: "I’ve always been clear that, although settling equal pay has been about delivering justice for thousands of the women in our workforce, meeting the substantial cost of doing that must be fair for citizens.
"Releasing the potential of our property, while keeping it in the city’s ownership, protects services and the future of these valued assets."
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