Hundreds of schools and nurseries are shut and home care services facing disruption as council workers stage a 48-hour strike.

The industrial action on Tuesday and Wednesday, which involves more than 8000 members of the GMB and Unison unions, is believed to be the biggest of its kind and comes in a dispute over equal pay at Glasgow City Council.

All early years establishments, additional support for learning (ASL) schools and mainstream primaries are closed.

Home care services for around 6000 people are affected by the industrial action.

The local authority sent letters to those affected informing them their care will be withdrawn for two days during the strike.

GMB Scotland said unions have agreed to all council requests to support the life and limb cover plan, adding the offer from union members to work through the strike to support vulnerable home care users still stands.

GMB Scotland organiser Rhea Wolfson said: "The council's officers have been incapable of putting in place the most basic cover despite having three weeks to prepare and the offers we have made every single day to resolve the dispute.

"Our members work for some of the most vulnerable elderly and disabled people in our community and we would never do anything that could cause them harm."

Thousands of female workers are proceeding with claims against the council following a Court of Session ruling last year.

Workers on the picket line at The Mitchell Library hope the strike will put pressure on the council to speed up the negotiation process.

Anna Murray is a cleaning supervisor at the library and has worked there for 25 years.

She said: "We've waited ten years for equal pay and the council doesn't seem to be doing anything to pay it so we've gone out on strike in support of getting our equal pay paid.

"I just feel that we're very underpaid for the work that we do."

Annette Tompson is also cleaning supervisor at The Mitchell, where she has worked for 17 years.

She said: "It has been taking a long, long time. We've been to the employment tribunal, to the court, to the Court of Session and they have found in our favour and the council are still not paying us.

"They know we are due the money but it is really dragging on."

Campaigners will also take part in a march from Glasgow Green to George Square on Tuesday in their fight to achieve pay justice.

The local authority said it had explored all options to avert the strike.

Glasgow City Council leader Susan Aitken said: "The strike will have a devastating impact and there's no need for it.

"They won their case the day that the SNP was elected to lead Glasgow City Council and we have been working ever since then to deliver them justice.

"We are extremely close to it and I am confident that they will get the settlement that they are entitled to and we will start paying out in the next financial year."