Unions have responded cautiously to the news Unilever management has agreed to engage in talks with conciliation service ACAS, following 12 days of strike action across the UK.

Members of GMB, Unite and Usdaw have been taking the action over cuts in their pensions but, until now, Unilever, which makes household products such as Dove, Marmite and Walls nice cream refused to talk.

A statement released this afternoon on behalf of the three unions says: “We welcome the fact that Unilever has at last recognised its responsibility to talk to us about a possible resolution to the dispute. We hope the agreement to talk through ACAS is a genuine indication of a willingness to engage meaningfully in an effort to find a solution. However, it is very early days and the dispute will continue until proposals have been put forward that are acceptable to our members.”

* UnionNews’s coverage of the strikes can be found here, here and here with a feature on why unions are striking by Unite’s Jennie Formby here