More than a million local government workers are to receive a 2.45 per cent pay rise as an "interim measure" ahead of talks aimed at resolving a long-running wage dispute.

Unison, the biggest trade union in the sector and the one representing the lion's share of local government employees across Oxfordshire, said the lowest-paid staff covered by the agreement would receive an additional £100. Talks between unions and local authority employers are due to be held at the conciliation service Acas in an attempt to break the deadlock.

In July, about 350 council workers marched through the streets of Oxford in a protest over pay.

Libraries, schools and leisure centres were forced to close as local government employees and members of the Unison and Unite trades unions across Oxfordshire walked out over what they described as a "below-inflation" 2.45 per cent pay offer.

Earlier, Oxford City Council had to reschedule its refuse collection services to cope with staff shortages. In Oxford, public toilets, the Museum of Oxford and council customer services centres remain closed.