The first payments have been made to thousands of council workers who secured the cash following a long-running equal pay row.

Glasgow City Council leader Susan Aitken confirmed thousands of claimants began receiving their payouts on Thursday, with the GMB union saying some workers are in line for £100,000.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon hailed the move as “fantastic” in a tweet.

She added: “All credit to the women who campaigned long and hard for this.”

The local authority agreed to pay out at least £500 million earlier this year, more than a decade on from the start of the dispute.

Women claimed they were paid £3 an hour less than men in similarly graded roles after a 2006 pay review aimed at ensuring pay parity.

The claimant group, including the unions GMB, Unison and Unite, as well as Action 4 Equality, reached a deal with the council months after around 8000 Glasgow council workers walked out on strike for 48 hours in October in a bid to settle the pay claim.

When the deal was struck, campaigners stressed the money is not a bonus but wages owed, and paid tribute to the 163 claimants who died waiting for it.

Aitken said: “Today is the day we can finally allow ourselves to say we are making good on equal pay and a promise of justice for thousands of women workers.

She added: “Today is the day that hundreds of millions of pounds starts to find its way into the pockets and purses of thousands of people who earned it and who always should have had it.”

The council is funding the settlements by “selling” some of the city’s best loved buildings, including the Royal Concert Hall, to an arm’s-length company, and leasing them back.

The Glasgow council leader told members of the the City Administration Committee the first, and largest, of these deals has concluded and the other two are expected to be signed during the local authority’s summer break.

The £285m 30-year partnership with insurance and pensions giant Legal & General was signed on Wednesday, enabling City Property to buy the SEC Armadillo, Glasgow City Halls and Glasgow Museums Resources Centre, which will then be leased back by the council.

Legal & General said in a statement that the Armadillo and City Halls are part of 473 commercial property assets in and around Glasgow involved in the deal, including offices and industrial estates.

The firm said that it estimates 12,000 households in the city will benefit from the equal pay settlement.

Aiken continued: “This is a hugely significant step forward for the council and the city as a whole.

“This deal not only means we can meet our responsibilities on equal pay ­– but do so while safeguarding the future of the city’s property assets in public use.

“I’m very pleased to be doing that in partnership with Legal & General, which has already shown great confidence in Glasgow as a place to invest.”

Lorna Brown, from the company’s investment management arm, said: “Legal & General is pleased to support Glasgow City Council in addressing their historic pay issues through the provision of the majority of the capital required to meet this liability.”