WOMEN workers at Glasgow City Council will walk out over the ongoing equal pay row, it has been confirmed. 

Unison has confirmed 9000 of its members, the vast majority of whom are women, will go on strike on March 28 and 29. 

GMB union will also be taking their members out on strike on the same days with an additional two days in April.

The industrial action will affect home care, cleaning, catering, schools, nurseries, residential homes, homelessness hostels, addiction services and administration services across the council. 

READ MORE: Glasgow council leader: 'Unions should show humility over equal pay'

Unions claim the council has "ripped up" deals that were secured in 2019 and it is hoped striking will maintain the current compensation payments in place. They claim women are entitled to further pay outs.

Kath Stirling, UNISON Branch Chair, said: "The purpose of the strike action is to force the council to maintain the current arrangements for equal pay compensation payments.

"These were won after the last strike but the council is moving to tear-up those arrangements. This could see smaller payments for some and others left out completely. 

"There is no moral or political justification for such an approach. These are the same women, in the same jobs still being paid under the same discriminatory gender pay scheme. The women and their jobs haven't changed so why should the compensation arrangements."

GMB Scotland Organiser Sean Baillie said:“The council’s officials have dithered and delayed for nearly a year on bringing forward an offer for interim payments owed to our members with equal pay claims.

“Put yourself in the position of a home carer or school cleaner who has worked throughout the pandemic knowing they are still being discriminated against by their employer, while highly paid officials who worked from home try to shift the goalposts on paying their liabilities.

“It’s totally unacceptable and there should be no misunderstanding whatsoever in the council about why our members have demanded moving to fresh waves of strike action.

“The council must meet its obligations to these workers by tabling an offer for the settlement of interim payments and new claims so that we can move forward to replace the discriminatory pay and grading system and bring this scandal to a close.”

The decision comes after council leader Susan Aitken told the Glasgow Times last week she "can't understand why" unions were considering further strike action.

A paper went to the committee last week asking for powers to go to the chief executive and the executive director of finance to "conclude all legal and financial agreements associated with the terms of this report." 

Work to complete the process was stalled due to the pandemic.

Ms Aitken previously confirmed that the council will look to make interim payments to the women affected. She said that strike action would "only cause further delays" to the process.

A Glasgow City Council spokesperson told the press association: “We simply don’t recognise this characterisation of the council’s position.

“Last week, committee gave officials authority to make offers to new claimants on the same basis as the 2019 deal.

“The council is absolutely following the process agreed with claimants’ representatives and firmly believes that negotiation is the way to settle these cases.

“We’ll be seeking a meeting with unions this week.”