THOUSANDS of former council workers are set to receive a payout following a landmark legal ruling on equal pay.
Edinburgh City Council has agreed terms with trade union Unison to settle around 3000 outstanding equal-pay claims by former administrative, professional, technical and clerical staff.
The total settlement is expected to run into millions as workers including classroom assistants, clerical assistants and social care workers each receive a substantial payout.
Unison has confirmed it will recommend the proposed terms to its members in a move that will bring an end to a long-running dispute between the council and its former employees.
Payments are expected to begin in the next couple of weeks and will be staggered over the coming three months. However, both the local authority and the union are calling on those affected to remain patient while arrangements are put in place.
Alastair Maclean, director of corporate governance at Edinburgh City Council, said: "This is an excellent outcome for these employees and reflects a commitment from councillors, officers and trade union representatives to working in partnership."
John Stevenson, president of City of Edinburgh Unison branch, added: "We welcome the settlement of these long- standing equal-pay claims and we are delighted that many of our members will soon start receiving their compensation."
Council leader Andrew Burns said the council had a firm aim to resolve the claims before the end of the year, adding: "We are absolutely delighted to report that this has been achieved."
The settlement follows a ruling at the UK Supreme Court earlier this week that saw more than 170 women from Birmingham City Council win their equal-pay claim.
The ruling cleared the way for anyone in the UK to make a claim within six years, when previously they would have been time-barred after six months.
In Scotland, due to different breach of contract legislation, anyone will now be able to make an equal-pay claim back to 2007.
A case involving 5500 current and former employees of Glasgow City Council is also under way and expected to last until December.
The claims follow the council's settlement of thousands of cases in 2007.
Further cases involving North and South Lanarkshire are also imminent, while Fife is also on the cusp of an out-of-court settlement. The Birmingham workers won a ruling over lower pay last November. The authority appealed against the decision but a panel of five judges at the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal.
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