MARTINEZ — Hours before thousands of Safeway workers across the Bay Area were set to strike, workers for UFCW Local 5 and UFCW Local 648 agreed to a tentative agreement with the company Saturday that would guarantee higher wages and improved benefits for workers.

Before an agreement was reached, grocery workers across Northern and Central California prepared to strike starting on Saturday at 12:01 a.m. Union officials Saturday morning announced that the deadline for an agreement had been extended and delayed the proposed strike by 24 hours to Sunday at 12:01 a.m.

The unions representing more than 20,000 Safeway employees throughout Northern California reached a tentative agreement with the company, averting a strike.