COUNCILS have been forced to hand out a "staggering" £180 million to settle equal pay and employment disputes over the last five years.

The country's local authorities paid out a total of £112,408,038 between 2009/10 and 2013/14, while a further settlement of £70.4m was agreed between South Lanarkshire Council and its workers in February.

The figures, obtained under freedom of information laws, also show bosses paid out more than £2m in legal fees defending claims.

Equal pay settlements account for the bulk of the payments, with employment tribunals and other dispute settlements making up the rest.

Politicians said the sum represents justice being done for thousands of workers who have been unfairly treated.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie MSP said: "This staggering sum reveals the extent of the real discrimination that women have faced for decades.

"It is costly for the state but the price that female workers experienced has been far greater.

"It is important that we put right the mistakes of the past and ensure they are not repeated.

"Creating a stronger economy and a fairer society so that everyone has an opportunity to get on must be our priority."

Neil Findlay MSP, Scottish Labour's spokesman for fair work, skills and training, also welcomed the figures, claiming they show that councils have "stepped up to the plate" when it comes to equal pay claims.

He said: "Justice and dignity in the workplace has finally been delivered to those who, for years, have been paid less because of their gender.

"We need to make sure that those who are still waiting have their claims resolved as soon as possible - which is in the interests of both local authorities and those discriminated against."

The Scottish Conservatives added that while the deals put financial pressure on local authorities, equal pay is an important matter which cannot be ignored.

South Lanarkshire Council appears to have awarded more than any other council over the five-year period - a total of £70,489,956.06.

However, despite being agreed in February, the £70.4m settlement involving present and former female staff who asserted they were earning less than men in comparable, but different, jobs was not paid out before the end of the year for 2013/14.

Edinburgh City Council was the second highest on the list, paying out £34.3m, followed by North Lanarkshire (£18.1m) and Glasgow (£18m).

However, some authorities refused to reveal how much they had paid and it was unclear if any other settlements were made but not paid out within the five-year time frame.

The true cost of equal pay is likely to be much more, with some councils still in dispute over settlements.

Many authorities have been forced to sell off assets or use reserve cash to meet the large payments.

Edinburgh City Council sold off land worth around £15m at the city's Morrison Street, as well as a number of other assets, to help pay for the backdated deals, while South Lanarkshire Council is understood to have used reserves to pay the sums.

A spokesman for Edinburgh said: "We planned for the initial costs of equal pay by identifying surplus council assets and ongoing costs were included in our in our long term financial planning.

"We value our workforce which is why we introduced new modernising pay and conditions several years ago and the living wage last year."

South Lanarkshire said it was "confident that the equal pay issue is now essentially a historic matter".

Trade union Unison, who have been involved in negotiating and fighting for many of these payouts, said the best way forward in the majority of cases is to try to reach an agreement that suits everyone.

Dave Watson, head of bargaining and campaigns for the union, said: "Unison will have been involved in many of these payouts either because staff have been poorly treated, their rights are being ignored or there is some kind of extenuating circumstances.

"However Unison always tries to find a solution that means people can continue working as this is almost always the best option for our members and for the public services they deliver.

"We work with employers to promote best practice and intervene early, where we can, to prevent problems getting out of hand.

"In equal pay cases, for example, we are working with councils to try and find an agreement that suits us all, of course our members need compensated for years of being underpaid, but we are just as interested as how we stop this happening again in the future."