IT'S decision time... council bosses have agreed to sit down with union representatives today at the end of two days' strike action.

Yesterday afternoon, GMB Scotland and UNISON reps were waiting to hear from Glasgow City Council.

But last night, city chiefs agreed to get back round the table and formally begin negotiations.

And it was exactly the outcome the women had been hoping for.

A Glasgow City Council spokesman said: “We had a series of productive meetings with the unions last week.

"While those discussions were not able to avert the strike, they do form a basis for us all to get together to formally restart our equal pay discussions.

“We wrote to the trade unions today setting out the basis of an agreement about discussions and we will be meeting them tomorrow.”

The statement came at the end of two days of intense strike action across the city.

As well as the formal strike involving 8000 women workers, male council colleagues chose to join picket lines in solidarity.

Responding to the council statement, GMB Scotland Organiser Hazel Nolan said: “Tomorrow morning our members will return to work and they can do so knowing that after a difficult and emotional forty-eight hours, the people of Glasgow are on their side.

"Joint claimant representatives will meet council officials and we hope that these talks will be the first step towards kick-starting meaningful negotiations that ultimately deliver equal pay justice for our members.

"As always, we will enter these talks in good faith and we hope that will be reciprocated by the council so that we can move forward at pace.

"It is in everyone’s interests to do so.”

An offer of negotiation was exactly what UNISON was hoping for also.

Mandy McDowall, UNISON regional organiser, said: “The council coming to us tomorrow with a proposal document that allows us to begin discussions around a settlement is the most meaningful outcome of this strike.

"We have had three weeks of radio silence and we would hope the council has been using that time to work quietly behind the scenes to give us something tangible to work with.

"UNISON has been waiting for the call for that to take place.

"Members are expecting it and Glasgow is expecting it.

"No one wants a repetition of what has happened this week.

"Tuesday afternoon's rally in George Square was amazing, emotional and powerful but we don't want to repeat it.

"These workers have waited a long time to take such powerful action but they don't want to do it again, even though it was an important and historical day.

"It's time now for the council to roll up their sleeves and get down to work. They must come back to us with the key elements we are asking for.

"We have lost so much time now in the schedules and milestones we had set out."

GMB Scotland Organiser Rhea Wolfson said: "The last 48 hours have been difficult, emotional and inspirational.

"Let’s be clear that our members did not take this action on a whim.

"They, more than anyone, recognise their roles and responsibilities to the people of Glasgow.

"What they are fighting for is the money they are already owed after years of rampant sex discrimination by their employer.

"This strike has also shone a light on the real challenges we still face as a society.

"The issue of equality, equal pay for work of equal value, is front and centre now.

"Collectivism, struggle and solidarity are in the DNA of this city.

"Women have always been at the core of this, and now a new generation of women workers have realised their strength."

Ms Wolfson added: "They know their true value and now they know that the people of Glasgow also support their cause, as we always thought they would.

"Glasgow is a great city with a rich past and our women are the backbone of its daily life.

"This week, the eyes of the world focussed on us and Tuesday’s historic march may well be something of a reawakening of Glasgow’s working-class consciousness. It suggests hope for the future.

"There is no doubt the Glasgow Women’s Strike will go down in history but ultimately its success can only be truly measured when our women receive equal pay justice.

"It falls on us all - council officials, politicians, trade unions, claimant bodies and indeed the public - to ensure that is finally delivered."