UNIONS and employers are believed ready to move significantly closer to an accord on pay for private sector workers in a new national agreement.
However, after day long talks yesterday, sources said that while both sides had indicated they were prepared to move from their original positions, this had not yet occurred.
It is expected the employers will improve their pay offer to around 6.5 per cent during the course of negotiations which resume this morning. The Irish Congress of Trade Unions' negotiators are understood to remain willing to reduce their claim to around 10 per cent.
If both sides make firm offers in today's discussions, it is likely that negotiations on a local bargaining clause will be used to try and bridge the remaining gap.
Should this happen, provision for local bargaining will probably be around 2 1/2 per cent, bringing the overall value of the private sector pay package to around 9 per cent over three years.
Tax reforms are also understood to have been discussed in detail. Negotiators for ICTU and the Irish Business and Employers' Confederation expect to have the overall shape of the private sector deal thrashed out in the next few days.
While the pay increases likely to be on offer may not seem a significant improvement on the Programme for Competitiveness and Work, which allowed for increases of up to 8 1/2 per cent over three years, the inclusion of tax cuts in the terms of a new agreement means that private sector workers will have a clear idea of the overall increase in their take home pay under any new agreement.
It is understood that public sector pay, and particularly the question of a 12 month pay pause, was not reached in yesterday's discussions.
However, national pay negotiations have traditionally dealt with the question of private sector pay first and used it as a basis for public sector negotiations.
It may well be that the format of public sector increases in the new agreement, including local bargaining, will differ in overall shape and timing from the private sector deal.
Talks resume this afternoon. Meanwhile, the national executive of SIPTU will hear a report on the talks to date from its senior negotiators when it convenes this morning.
The SIPTU negotiators are the general secretary, Mr Bill Attley, and the vice president, Mr Jimmy Somers. The president of SIPTU, Mr Edmund Browne, is also involved in the talks as vice president of ICTU.