In an attempt to prevent the first major strike by steel workers in the UK since the 1980s, Tata Steel has approached the country’s conciliation service ACAS, which it hopes will facilitate talks between the two sides.

“We have contacted ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) to bring in independent expertise in mediating a resolution to the UK pension dispute,” Tor Farquhar, head of human resources at Tata Steel’s European operations, said in a statement on Sunday. “We have been talking to the trade unions since November 2014 to develop a fair and sustainable pension scheme for all UK employees.”

The National Trade Union Steel Coordinating Committee — made up of four unions whose members have voted for industrial action — had been approached by ACAS, a spokesperson for Community, the largest union involved, said.

“Community has indicated our willingness on a number of occasions to use the services of ACAS; indeed it was an approach I’d suggested to the company months ago. As I have said before, I will meet anybody, anytime, anywhere for meaningful discussions to seek a resolution to this dispute. Consultation between the unions about how we respond is ongoing,” said Roy Rickhuss, chair of the union committee and general secretary of the Community union. Industrial action is set to kick off first thing on Tuesday — with union members refusing to work over-time and sticking to the letter of their work agreements on an ongoing basis. A one-day strike is set for June 22.

The unions and Tata Steel first failed to agree on plans to reform the existing defined benefit pension scheme, and began consulting on closing the scheme entirely and replacing it with a defined contribution scheme.

The old scheme, which dates back to British Steel days, has an estimated £2 billion deficit. Tata Steel says it remains committed to providing a high-quality pension scheme. Unions oppose a number of measures in the proposed changes, including an end to early retirement.

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