Glasgow City Council and the joint claimant organisations, GMB, Unison, Unite and Action 4 Equality, have reached an agreement that will lead to the settlement of 14,000 equal pay claims.

The claims arose due to the city council’s adoption in 2006 of a job evaluation scheme which disproportionately affected and unfairly treated female workers.

In 2017, the Court of Session ruled that the Workforce Pay and Benefits Review in Glasgow had discriminated against female workers as did the payment protection scheme which was not extended to female workers. Unite represented both male and female workers who will be beneficiaries of the proposed deal.

Susan Aitken, the council leader, said a “historic injustice” had been put right following a year of hard negotiation.

Ms Aitken said: “We were clear that this was always likely to take at least a year and the sheer volume of cases involved and the complexity of the council’s pay and grading arrangements were such that this was never going to be easy.

“I have never needed to be convinced of the case for equality. 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.”

Wendy Dunsmore, Unite regional industrial officer, added: “This is a day of celebration for the workers in Glasgow City Council who were unfairly treated and discriminated against.

“These workers have been financially disadvantaged for years. The deal addresses these historic wrongs. Unite members will be delighted that the many years of wait is almost at an end.”

GMB Scotland organiser Hazel Nolan commented: “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.

“Much will be said about the scale of the settlement reached but when you’re a worker on a wage what you’re selling ultimately is your time, and decades of systematic gender discrimination meant that women in Glasgow were forced to work longer hours for less.

“We need to be clear that this can only financially compensate women for the time stolen from them, the time that could have been spent with their families and loved ones can’t be repaid.

“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.”