Peruvian government officials sat down to talks Friday with representatives of farmworkers who had blockaded a highway to protest the deaths of three people in clashes with police.

Farm workers have been staging protests for weeks to demand more pay. But 28 demonstrators and 36 officers were injured in confrontations, while 45 agricultural workers were arrested.

Authorities said three people, including a minor, were killed in clashes with police in recent days.

This prompted the workers to blockade a part of the key Pan-American Highway some 500 kilometres (300 miles) north of the capital, Lima, in protest.

The blockade held for two days until it was lifted ahead of talks Friday. Television images showed police using tear gas and birdshot against demonstrators.

The presidency of Peru's council of ministers said in a tweet Friday that discussions have started in the city of Trujillo and will involve "active listening" on the part of the commission.

The workers are demanding that agricultural-export companies increase their daily wage from $11 to $18, but a bill passed by congress last week proposed an increase to only 48 soles -- about $13.

On Friday, the government said a commission that includes ministers and deputy ministers of agriculture, labor, trade and other senior figures was meeting with workers' representatives.

This came after a call to dialogue Thursday by President Francisco Sagasti, who also vowed to "sanction the police that did not respect the ban on using firearms" on protesters.

Sagasti agreed the new bill "does not satisfy any of the parties involved" and undertook to set up a national forum "to discuss the future of the agricultural sector."

The government announced an investigation into the deaths during the protests and said the police chief of the La Libertad region would be removed.

Rural labor protests over wages and conditions have been a feature of the Peruvian political scene in recent weeks. Since the protests broke out there have been five deaths.

cm/lda/mlr/dw