Stockholm, March 30 - Sweden's retail workers' union said it had reached a wage agreement with employers, avoiding a strike threatened for next week.
The Handels union, which had planned to strike from April 5, said late on Thursday it had agreed a deal which will see its members get a pay rise of 13 percent over the next three years. Warehouse workers get 11 percent.
The deal covers about 120,000 retail sector employees.
Sweden's umbrella employers' organisation, the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, had scuppered an original deal -- which the union said was the same as that now agreed -- saying big wage increases could hurt Sweden's economy.
The central bank, which will announce its latest decision on interest rates on Friday, has also been keeping an eye on wage deals, which some analysts say have been bigger than expected and could push up inflation.
Wage deals covering 80 percent of Sweden's labour force -- about 3 million workers -- are due to be negotiated this year.
Earlier this month, Sweden's industrial workers struck a deal, seen as a bellwether for talks in other sectors, giving them pay rises of 10.2 percent over three years.