diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index 2289341a3573ac5ea5b4d6746a104790af072c22..dc4b3cf162e177a2ce15e1cf943c788237db2f81 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ workflow:
     - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH
 
 variables:
-  CI_IMAGE: "docker.io/paritytech/ci-unified:bullseye-1.74.0-2023-11-01-v20240108"
+  CI_IMAGE: !reference [.ci-unified, variables, CI_IMAGE]
   # BUILDAH_IMAGE is defined in group variables
   BUILDAH_COMMAND: "buildah --storage-driver overlay2"
   RELENG_SCRIPTS_BRANCH: "master"