Industrial action at Belfast aerospace company Shorts has been halted after trade unions agreed to put a new pay offer to workers' ballot. After a fortnight of talks at the city's Labour Relations Agency, on Sunday evening the management suggested an increased four-year pay offer and the unions agreed to put it to members.

Unions say they expect to have the result by the end of next week. The five unions involved in the dispute agreed to cancel next week's planned 24-hour weekly strikes, and to end the overtime ban and Friday half-day strikes which have been running for weeks for the duration of the ballot.

A Shorts spokesman said the "revised offer" amounted to 3.75 per cent in the first year, 3.2 per cent in the second, 3.1 per cent in the third and 3.35 per cent in the fourth.

The previous offer, which had been rejected by the unions, was for 3 per cent a year with an inflation review in the fourth. The deal also includes inflation protection for years two, three and four.

This will operate if UK inflation rises from the predicted level of around 2.1 per cent to 4 per cent.

A Shorts spokesman described the move as "a big step forward". He said the company recognised the efforts of the trades union negotiators and hoped they could all go forward to re-establish credibility and customer confidence.

He said the unions had been warned again of the consequences of continued industrial action which would cause loss of work and job losses.

Bombardier Aerospace, Shorts' parent company, said last month it had secured its biggest order to date for regional aircraft and planned to recruit additional staff. The order for 104 Canadair Regional jets, with options for another 400, was placed by two subsidiaries of Delta Airlines. Sections of the plane are built at the east Belfast plant. Shorts announced that it was taking on more than 1,000 extra workers as a result of increasing orders but warned that if the strike caused delays to deliveries then work could go elsewhere.

The North's Minister for Trade and Investment, Sir Reg Empey, cut short a trade mission to the United States to monitor crises at both Shorts and Harland & Wolff.

He said, "I congratulate the management and unions on the outcome of the talks and hope the revised offer will lead to a final settlement and security of jobs at the company."