Prison officers' leaders are meeting with Justice Secretary Jack Straw following Wednesday's sudden strike.
Ministers have insisted prison officers will not get a new pay settlement this year, following "constructive" talks with union officials on Friday.
Thousands of prison staff in England and Wales walked out over the phasing of their 2.5% pay rise in two stages.
The talks, which followed a surprise strike by thousands of prison staff in England and Wales on Wednesday, will continue in two weeks' time.
The Prison Officers' Association admitted breaking a "no-strike" deal but said it was a desperate move by demoralised staff in overcrowded jails. Gordon Brown has insisted public sector pay rises have to be paid in stages to keep inflation under control.
The Prison Officers' Association has said there will be no more industrial action for now.
Entering the talks, union leaders say they expect there will be some frank exchanges in the meeting with Mr Straw.
Staff are angry that a 2.5% pay rise is being phased in, in two stages.
Ministers were taken by surprise by Wednesday's walkout and the government was in court within hours seeking an injunction to stop the strike.
Entering the talks, union leaders said they expected some frank exchanges in the meeting with Justice Secretary Jack Straw.
An independent pay review body recommended a 2.5% pay rise, but the government staged that rise, awarding 1.5% in April and the remaining 1% from November, a decision made by the Prime Minister when he was still chancellor.
In a joint statement, the government and the union said: "We have had some hours of constructive discussions. We will be meeting again in two weeks' time.
"The justice secretary, Jack Straw, emphasised to the POA that there can be no change in this year's pay settlement.
"The POA told him that they had no intention of further industrial action at this time, but would continue to seek a resolution to this current dispute."
Ministers were taken by surprise by Wednesday's walkout by about 20,000 staff and the government was in court within hours seeking an injunction to stop the strike.
An independent pay review body recommended a 2.5% pay rise, but the government staged that rise, awarding 1.5% in April and the remaining 1% from November, a decision made by the prime minister when he was still chancellor.
The Prison Officers' Association (POA) said it effectively amounted to a second year of below-inflation pay awards and has not ruled out further strikes.
The Prison Officers' Association (POA) said it effectively amounted to a second year of below-inflation pay awards and has not ruled out further strikes.
Wednesday's walkout by prison officers took ministers by surprise
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the staging of pay awards was an "essential part" of controlling inflation, keeping interest rates low and creating more jobs.
Mr Brown said on Thursday: "We have succeeded in tackling inflation and having a stable economy because of discipline in pay over the last 10 years. That discipline will have to continue."
He said the staging of pay awards was an "essential part" of controlling inflation, keeping interest rates low and creating more jobs.
"We will do nothing, nothing, to put that at risk. It is an essential element of maintaining discipline in the economy," he said.
"We will do nothing, nothing, to put that at risk. It is an essential element of maintaining discipline in the economy," he said.
All 129 non-private prisons in England and Wales experienced some disruption during the walkout by about 20,000 staff, which was condemned by the government as "illegal" and "wholly unjustifiable".
As the talks got under way the Ministry of Justice published fresh predictions for the prison population over the next seven years, suggesting that the government's massive building plan for new cells will not ease the current overcrowding crisis.
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The POA said the first national walkout in its 68-year history followed "two years of frustration and two years of below-inflation pay awards".
POA chairman Colin Moses said it would take the government £11.5m to settle the dispute. He called on Mr Brown to "sit round the negotiating table" as he had done with nursing unions and the Fire Brigades' Union.
"What Mr Brown wants to remember is, when he places 81,000 people in prison, he places them under the custody of my members, who are being assaulted on average eight times a day," he told BBC News.
"My members have had to take, as many other members of the public had to take, five interest rate rises this year on their mortgages.
"Go and tell a prison officer, who's facing the violence he's facing on a daily basis, that you're not going to give them any more."
As the talks got underway the Ministry of Justice published fresh predictions for the prison population over the next seven years, suggesting that the government's massive building plan for new cells will not ease the current overcrowding crisis.
