Glasgow is to have a major revamp of public services as part of plans to pay for its staggering equal pay bill.

Council leader Susan Aitken said more than 1000 council buildings were being reviewed as part of the plans to create "civic hubs" – centralising services such as job centres, GPs and libraries over the next decade.

All staff have already been asked “to be flexible about where they work and how they work” in an email sent out by chief executive Anne Marie O'Donnell earlier this week.

The council leader insisted the move was not intended to create longer commutes for staff or force anyone out of work, but she would not commit to current staffing levels other than to promise there would be no compulsory redundancies.

She also confirmed that there were no plans for councillors to move out of their convenient city centre location of the City Chambers but said elected members should be in their communities "as much as possible".

It comes after the local authority announced it would be trying to raise mortgages from blue chip investors on some of its most high-profile buildings – as revealed by the Herald on Sunday in late December – along with selling and leasing back others using its arms-length firm City Property.

Properties affected include the Emirates Stadium, the Armadillo and the Riverside museum, with the council leader insisting those using the facilities will see no change in how they are run, with no plans to increase admission rates.

The private cash generated from outside investors will be used to pay around £548m worth of equal pay claims, covering pay-outs for 13,000 low-paid workers, the majority of whom are women.

Last month, the local authority announced it had reached a deal with trade unions, bringing the decade-long dispute to an end.

Ms Aitken said: “This is not about saying to folk 'pack up your desk – we're shunting you out'.

“Its about creating civic hubs, service delivery hubs that are fit for the communities that they serve and the people who deliver them will be located in the most appropriate place, where they can have the strongest connection with people who need them. That is seldom in the city centre.”

The new centres could see services such as doctor's surgeries, libraries, job centres and benefits advisers all stationed in a single place, which the council leader said would help to “de-stigmatise” people.

She added that the move was part of creating a local authority fit for a “modern 21st century city”.

She said: “What we need more of, not just us but alongside the NHS too, is modern fit-for-purpose buildings.

“We will go into a deep dive with community engagement on this. Nothing is going to happen overnight. It is a seven to 10-year strategy.

“The roles that will relocate, the people in those roles, are not necessarily the same people in those roles now.

“Things even potentially like licensing officers – the decision they are making, for example around fast food provision, impact primarily on our most deprived communities, but they sit in offices in the city centre.”

Opposition politicians and trade unions have largely welcomed the plans, but the say the council leader should be putting more pressure on the Scottish Government to provide additional cash to Glasgow.

The city has received a reduction in funds from central government for a number of years and is still trying to work out how to save £41m in this year’s budget.

Councillor Aitken previously spoke out against the SNP-run government about the disproportionate level of cuts Glasgow was facing.

Leader of the opposition, Labour’s Frank McAveety, said councils had to “find innovative ways to meet their continuing difficulties of budgets” but said there should be a focus on taking the Scottish Government to task.

He said: “This is the 12th year in a row that Glasgow has received less from the Scottish Government. As we speak Glasgow still has to find £41m cuts, even after the allegedly generous settlement from Derek (Mackay – finance secretary) this week. We must try and retain services in communities and find a new way of doing that.

“We need to meet these commitments around equal pay and it requires every councillor to be on board. If we continue to try and make equal pay a political football we are doing a disservice to the obligation we made to those women, primarily, who want us to get on with settling it.”

Rhea Wolfson, organiser at GMB trade union, said there should be “no illusions” about the “scale of the challenges facing jobs, services and communities.”

She said the trade union’s firm priority would be to defend the interests of its members, protect their jobs and working conditions.

““Our priority is to defend the interests of our members, their livelihoods and also the interests of the people who rely on front-line service delivery every day across Glasgow, from home care to leisure and culture.” She explained.

“Glasgow’s budget has been hit harder than any other city in Scotland over the last ten years and the shift in economic and political focus to Edinburgh, coupled with the evident decline in our infrastructure and services, demands a significant response.

“With that in mind, we welcome Councillor Aitken’s commitment to consultation with the trade unions and to no compulsory redundancies across services.

“It’s a decent starting point because it will need a collective approach to stand-up for Glasgow in the months and years ahead.”

Thomas Kerr, deputy group leader of the Conservatives in Glasgow said his party were “fully supportive” of the plans to create centralised services in the form of civic hubs, but added it must not lead to a reduction in front-line services.

The councillor said: “If done properly, civic hubs have the potential to increase the accessibility of services by taking a more coordinated approach to the way in which residents interact with them.

“That being said I worry that if they are not thought out and done properly it could lead to wider issues.

“These types of proposals have merit and can transform the way we deal with local services but they can't be used as an excuse to cut the level of support offered to local people or as an easy savings option for Cllr Aitken.

“Just this week we have witnessed the contempt with which Derek Mackay treats councils, particularly Glasgow, and I would rather that Cllr Aitken was lobbying harder for real transformative funding for Glasgow so these hubs can work properly.

“Glasgow Life, who would take the lead on this issue, have asked for a stand-still budget for a few years so they have time to work out how these hubs could work. “They won't get that by being rushed into closing facilities because the SNP Government is not helping our city.

“I hope the SNP Administration in Glasgow engages with community groups and views the development of civic hubs as a chance to enhance the level of service provided to Glaswegians across the city. My Conservative colleagues and I look forward to working in a constructive manner on this issue