Nursery nurses have been striking over pay and conditions

Unison said the talks with Cosla would be the first face-to-face discussions on the issue since the summer.

Nursery nurses have been seeking a national pay deal and staff from all but 12 authorities have been on all-out strike since the start of March.

Unison said it now hoped for a speedy end to the dispute.

Staff in 12 council areas have agreed deals with their local councils but Unison has persistently called for a national settlement.

Earlier this week, First Minister Jack McConnell described the row as "a national disgrace" and urged agreement.

He blamed the breakdown in communication on a small group of intransigent men.

LOCAL SETTLEMENTS Aberdeen Aberdeenshire Clackmannanshire Dumfries and Galloway East Renfrewshire Falkirk Highland Perth Shetland South Lanarkshire Stirling West Lothian

At present nursery nurses earn about �13,000 a year but they want an extra �4,000 to reflect additional duties they have had to undertake.

West Lothian Council became the 12th council to strike a local deal on Tuesday and there is hope the remaining 20 areas could be about to follow.

It said the nurses had accepted an offer which they had previously rejected, including pay rises ranging between 13.4% and 19.3% and a lump sum payment of more than �2,000.

A large crowd of nursery nurses demonstrated outside the first minister's official residence in Edinburgh on Thursday.

Their protest was timed to coincide with the 90th anniversary of the first force feeding in Scotland of a hunger-striking suffragette.