Skoda spokesman Jaroslav Cerny said the company received the unions' stance which will now be discussed by the board of directors.

He would not say whether the board would meet by Tuesday.

Unions said earlier they would launch a three-hour token strike if no agreement was reached on Thursday.

Povsik said today each of the three shifts should stage a 2.5 hour strike, which would halt production for a day.

Unions spokesman Jaroslav Hasek said Skoda produces about 2,500 cars a day.

Skoda Auto employs more than 26,000 staff, average blue-collar wage at Kc22,000.

Skoda's management proposed on Wednesday a 10-percent increase for two years as of April 1, raising yearly bonus to Kc10,000 and inflation clause as of mid-2008, which translates into an overall pay rise of 13 procent, or more than Kc3,000 per month and employee, said Martin Jahn, a member of Skoda's board of directors.

Unions have not specified a wage growth they are willing to accept. Povsik only said it is less than the originally required rise of 17 percent which together with other demands represented an overall growth in wages by 24 percent.

President Vaclav Klaus today warned against a fast growth of wages at the largest Czech company Skoda Auto. During a visit to the Skoda plant at Kvasiny, he said the agreement on wages between the management and unions will be a signal for the entire Czech economy.

It could inspire unions at other companies to raise their demands.

"What Skoda Auto can afford need not be exactly what some other Czech companies can afford," Klaus told CTK.

He asked the managers at Skoda not to raise wages "too much" and be aware of possible effects on the Czech economy.

"As an economist, I would not underestimate the signal effect of the [wage] agreement on the rest of the economy," Klaus said.

Skoda Auto last year raised net earnings by 40.1 percent to a record Kc11.06bn, with consolidated sales of the group up by 8.7 percent at a record Kc203.7bn.

In 2006, Skoda sold about 550,000 cars, a growth of 11.7 percent on the year, surpassing the 500,000 level for the first time in the history. This year, Skoda wants to turn out 600,000 cars.