Union leaders and management at retail giant Argos are to hold talks as efforts intensify to prevent a staff strike in the run-up to Christmas, it emerged today.
Workers have threatened to walk out in a row over wages and the company's refusal to increase pay by 10 per cent.
A one-day stoppage is planned for 31 stores on Saturday but both sides have agreed to meet with the Government's industrial relations trouble-shooters the National Implementation Body tomorrow.
Mandate, which represents the Argos staff, said it hoped to avoid a strike. The union has been pushing for better wages claiming workers are paid on a six point wage scale which starts off at €9.07 an hour and asked for a 10 per cent rise.
Linda Tanham, national official for Mandate, said: "There's little doubt that the company has the ability to pay so we feel the negotiating process should continue."
The dispute has been to the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court which recommended payment of Towards 2016 increases worth only 2.5 per cent from November. In December 2000, Argos and Mandate agreed future wage increases would be subject to annual negotiations and not social partnership.
Argos has more than 680 stores throughout the UK and Ireland and in the last financial year its sales topped £3.8 billion sterling (€5.3 billion).
Mandate insist pay rates are higher in four other main high streets chain stores.