IRISH Life has agreed to accede to a request by two ministers to refer its 12 week old dispute with MSF to binding arbitration by the Employer Labour Conference. The company says it is doing so, despite reservations about further arbitration, because of representations from the Minister for Finance, Mr Quinn and the Minister of State for Commerce, Science and Technology, Mr Pat Rabbitte.

MSF had been expected to hold a meeting of the 300 sales staff involved in the dispute later today in Portlaoise. But it is understood to have deferred the meeting until Monday because a number of the strikers said they had to attend family confirmations on Saturday.

The strikers have already rejected settlement proposals from the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court. The company accepted the outcome of both sets of negotiations, although it increased the cost of its restructuring package from £500,000 to £2 million.