Strike action at Irish Life, scheduled to take place on Thursday, has been deferred for further talks.

The proposed one-day stoppage by staff unhappy with the company’s new pay model was called off after the union Unite said it had received commitments from management ahead of “facilitated talks”.

"Revised action dates of January 20th and February 17th have been notified to the company. These will proceed in the absence of a full resolution of the issues in dispute," the union, which represents 1,100 Irish Life workers in Dublin and Dundalk, said in a statement.

The dispute has been ongoing since November, when four two-hour stoppages were held.

Staff maintain management’s refusal to link wages to inflation will leave workers unsure of future earnings.

Unite regional officer Maeve Brehony previously blamed the company's "intransigence" for escalating the dispute.

However, Irish Life accuses Unite of seeking to change mechanisms for pay reviews for specialists and managers, who were not previously covered by collective agreements on pay.