Workers at a major carpet manufacturing firm have called off a 24-hour strike planned for today in the hope they can settle their long-running pay dispute.

Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) members on the shop floor at Shelf carpet tile manufacturer Interface Europe have been in dispute with bosses since April 2003.

The firm's American owners initially imposed a pay freeze across the company, to the fury of around 100 members of the TGWU working at the factory in Shelf Mills.

But the union claims the chief executive of Interface Inc in the United States had seen his pay rise from £500,000 in 2002 to £637,520 plus a £155,000 bonus in 2003 - despite the pay freeze.

Workers have been on an overtime ban since October and the move has caused the firm to move some of its production to other sites.

Interface Inc has since lifted the pay freeze and reached a settlement of around three per cent plus a lump sum with office workers in Shelf who were also represented by the TGWU. But Nick Halton, regional organiser, claimed the company had steadfastly failed to negotiate with the shop floor workers.

"Since the beginning of the year, the company has made no attempt to negotiate so our members decided to ballot to escalate the action," he said. "It is not surprising that our members are up in arms about all this given the size of the awards to the American directors."

He said the union had agreed to call off today's action in the hope talks could restart but a further stoppage was scheduled for next Friday.

Dave Smith, human resources director for Interface Europe, said: "What we have consistently said for the last seven months, during the overtime ban and recently since the pay freeze was lifted, is that we want the union to lift its industrial action and then we will be willing to negotiate."

He said it was "fortunate" the firm had other sites in Europe which could help to produce orders to meet demand and insisted: "It is incumbent on all of us to get a resolution to this."

Mr Smith added: "I am sure that we can sort it out, but of the time scale I am not sure."