A long-running council workers' strike has been suspended in Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon district.
The industrial action had been running for six weeks and led to thousands of bins across the area not being collected and piles of rubbish mounting up in some areas.
Agreement was reached to suspend the strike after trade union members met with council representatives on Wednesday to discuss a new pay deal, which had already been agreed by the local authority on Monday night.
Read more: Warning residents facing "stark choice" without rubbish collections
The strike action is set to end at one minute past midnight on Thursday. The improved pay deal for staff was brokered following mediation by the Labour Relations Agency.
The three participating unions, Unite, GMB and Nipsa, released a joint statement with the council, saying: "Following positive negotiations between management and the joint trade unions, an agreement in principle has been reached and approved by elected members.
"It is agreed to suspend strike action on Thursday September 22 (12.01am), subject to a ballot of members on the agreement."
Alan Perry, GMB regional organiser, said unions members have fought hard for what was right and should be rightly proud of themselves.
"They now have a deal on the table, winning a deal which will help to feed their families. They want to thank the public for their support during the industrial action, which has been a struggle for everyone," he added.
"If accepted, this will go some way to helping the lowest-paid council workers face the cost-of-living crisis and a hard winter ahead. While welcome, this award from the council will not reverse the real-terms pay cuts our members have suffered over the last two decades."
An ABC council spokesperson added: "The agreement reached will see staff on the bottom six pay scales of the organisation re-defined and scales adjusted so that the very lowest-paid workers will benefit. In addition, these staff will receive a one-off cost of living payment of £500.
"The overall annual cost to council will be in the region of £1.5 million, with an additional £1.2 million taken from council reserves to fund the one-off cost of living payments. Payments relating to spinal points will be backdated to April 2022."
Separately, strike action in Ards and North Down council has been averted after GMB members voted in favour of a new pay deal.
GMB were in the process of balloting members for industrial action in a dispute over pay. But any walkout has been stopped after the council and union members from GMB, NIPSA and Unite struck a deal.
Elsewhere, strike action at Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council (LCCC) looks set to continue after a union rejected a late night pay offer.
At a special meeting of LCCC a on Tuesday night, an offer was made to the Unite union but was, however, rejected.
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