The Evening Times can reveal that janitors who are members of trade union Unison and Cordia employees have voted overwhelmingly in favour of the wage proposals during a heated meeting this afternoon. 

It means that the row, which has been ongoing for the past 20 months, is over - less than 24 hours before kids are due back at school.

Dozens of janitors took to the streets to celebrate the victory, which has been described as a "landmark" for the typically low-paid employees. 

The offer agreed by the staff will see the existing 196 janitors receive a six per cent wage rise, and the number of jobs rise to 213.

This includes filling 12 vacant posts and creating five new relief positions to cover absence.

Every primary school will also receive their own janitor, with the council scrapping the previous plan to share one janitor between multiple schools. 

Brian Ashe, janitor at Carmunnock Primary, welcomed the deal.

He said: "We are glad this has come to an end and we won our fight.

"We've been everywhere - Holyrood, the city chambers, Dundee,Falkirk, Edinburgh again, Govanhill - and it has all been worth it.

"If we hadn't fought for this we would all be in clusters and going between schools. We have all stuck together and become a really strong group."

Jim Cooke, who works at St Thomas primary in Riddrie, was delighted at the result and said he was looking forward to going back to school. 

He said: "The deal we have made is better than I expected, and it's absolutely fantastic so I can't complain.

"[Not working] has been a big problem for most of the janitors as they take so much pride in their school.

"The fact that there was a boycott in place, okay we were fighting for something but it was hard for us to not do the stuff we would normally do on a daily basis." 

Brian Smith, branch secretary for Glasgow Unison, said: "In January 2016, Unison members began a boycott and in March 2016 strike action began.

"The janitors took 67 strike days in blocks of 3,5 and then 10 days.

"The dispute shows that workers can win if they are determined and organised, supported by their local branch and the wider trade union, escalate strike action when necessary, involve the wider community and build pressure on elected politicians at key points.

"We will draw on the lessons of the dispute for future campaigns, particularly within Cordia, where there remains numerous unfair pay arrangements affecting members."

Susan Aitken, leader of Glasgow City Council, said: "I am pleased we have been able to bring about a positive end to this dispute, which has been one of longest disputes in Glasgow City Councils in recent decades. 

"This dispute was allowed to drag on far too long by the previous Labour administration.

“We promised parents and pupils this would be a priority for an SNP City Government. Today's agreement means we start the new school year with a deal that works for the janitors, the Council and Glasgow's schools.

“I am confident this delivers a fair and sustainable justice for the jannies, alongside service reform without being unfair to other staff groups.

“I am grateful to colleagues, our City Treasurer Allan Gow and City Convener for Workforce Feargal Dalton, as well as officers, the trade unions and of course the workforce, who have worked hard to bring about this resolution with their efforts across the summer.”