Union leaders in Guinea have met President Lansana Conte after being released following the worst violence so far in a two-week general strike.
A heavy security presence is reported in the capital, Conakry, and other towns following Monday's clashes in which more than 30 people were killed.
The government announced an inquiry into the violence after the talks. The strike is the third in the last year.
The strikers say President Conte is too sick to govern and want him to resign.
They also accuse Mr Conte, who is his 70s and suffers from diabetes, of mismanaging the economy and personally securing the release from prison of two men accused of corruption.
'Overwhelmed'
"We were released yesterday (Monday) at 22:00 and were taken to the home of the president, in the Samory camp to meet with Conte," Rabiatou Serah Diallo of the National Confederation of Guinean Workers told AFP news agency.
Strongman feels the heat
She said the president registered his displeasure about their arrest.
"We will not close the door to negotiations," she said.
The BBC's Alhassan Sillah in the capital said the first lady Harriette Conte helped to negotiate their release from custody.
Late on Monday night, the government announced that they would hold an inquiry into the violence when demonstrators heading for parliament got into running battles with the police in Conakry.
Doctors at Conakry's Donka Hospital said they were overwhelmed by the number of gunshot victims and were running out of medicines, Reuters news agency reports.
Negotiation doubts
The African Union head Alpha Oumar Konare has condemned the killings and arrest of the union leaders.
The strikers were prevented from reaching the city centre
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was concerned about the loss of life during the protests.
Both men called for dialogue between the two sides.
Regional presidents Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal and Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria are expected to go to Guinea to try and mediate.
But our correspondent say there are now doubts about whether they will be allowed into the country.
A civil society leader Ben Sekou Sylla told the BBC French Service that he believed troops from neighbouring Guinea-Bissau were in the country helping the military.
There has been no independent confirmation of his allegations but analysts say Guinea-Bissau's President Joao Bernardo Vieira is a long-time ally of Mr Conte.
On Saturday, Mr Conte made a speech on television, asking for the support of the people and the army.
Mr Conte seized power in a 1984 coup but has since won three elections.
Food prices are said to have risen sharply in Conakry, with shortages of staple foods including rice and bread.