The Paraguayan government has agreed to meet former workers who have nailed themselves to wooden crosses over a wage dispute.

It is an increasingly common form of protest in Paraguay that has been condemned by the Catholic Church but has often been successful.

Four men and one woman have been nailed to crosses for several weeks and a sixth person had planned to join them until Paraguay's work ministry agreed to meet the protesters on January 26.

"With this news, we will cancel the sixth crucifixion," said organiser Carlos Gonzalez, but he added that the other five would remain nailed to crosses.

The workers claim they are owed several thousand dollars for work many years ago on the Itaipu Dam, which is on the Parana River shared by Paraguay and Brazil.

The dam, one of the world's biggest hydroelectric projects, is jointly administered by the two countries.