Workers at Australia's biggest poultry producer Inghams will hold a 24-hour strike on Friday after pay discussions since the start of the year failed to reach an agreement, Reuters reported, citing the company's union on Wednesday.

The United Workers Union said it had formally notified the company of the strike, a step required by Australian law before starting industrial action.

An Inghams spokesperson said discussions were continuing and did not make any further comment.

The Australian newspaper had earlier reported that more than 1,000 workers would go on strike in pursuit of a 6% annual pay increase for the life of a new three-year agreement.

Workers at Inghams are on around A$25-an-hour pay and they are asking for an extra A$1.50 an hour, the union's National Secretary Tim Kennedy said.

"Given a live supply chain, prolonged industrial action would be quite disruptive and begin to impact ING's ability to supply chickens to its customers," said E&P Capital's retail analyst Phillip Kimber. "We expect some compromise to be reached."

Inghams supplies its products to supermarkets such as Woolworths and Coles and fast-food chains including McDonald's.