Bombardier is Northern Ireland's largest manufacturing employer

A revised pay offer put to the unions by management has been accepted by a majority of the workforce at Northern Ireland's biggest manufacturing firm, it emerged on Tuesday.

The three-year pay deal gives workers a lump sum of �750 for this year, with 2.5% increases for the next two years, subject to inflation.

The plant's owners, Canadian aircraft company Bombardier Aerospace, welcomed the decision. A spokesman said it would protect its competitive position and strengthen its base in Belfast.

The dispute at the company over pay and cost-cutting has dragged on for almost a year.

Last December, about 4,000 members of the Amicus and Transport Workers unions began industrial action in a row over pay and cost-cutting.

The strike action was the first of its kind at the company in 20 years.

Industrial action centred on two specific issues - the introduction of afternoon shifts and worries about redundancies - but it also stemmed from a wider dispute.

It followed a series of job cuts at the plant, with Bombardier making it clear that it needed to reduce the workforce in Northern Ireland in order to improve competitiveness.