Trade union leaders have reacted angrily to warnings from the Central Bank that continued pay moderation is needed to prevent the economy from overheating.
The vice-president of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Mr Joe O'Toole, said the calls were hypocritical and would not deflect trade unionists from seeking "significant pay claims" in any new national agreement.
The general secretary of SIPTU, Mr John McDonnell, said it was now clear "in the light of the unprecedented economic boom that basic increases provided for in Partnership 2000 were too modest".
He added that employers had aggravated the problem by their reluctance to engage in serious gain-sharing negotiations at local level.
"Of agreements negotiated so far by SIPTU, only 6 per cent allowed for some form of gain-sharing", Mr McDonnell said.
Speaking at a regional meeting of his union, the Irish National Teachers' Organisation, in Nenagh, Co Tipperary, Mr O'Toole said "any chance of a new social partnership will have to be rooted in pay terms offering serious additional money to workers.
"It would have been a good week for the banks to buy back a bit of credibility with the community. They might have said that they would repay with interest the money of which they have deprived the State so that it could be invested in creating a better future for all.
"They might also have tendered an apology." Instead, Mr O'Toole added, "while half of them are down at the DIRT inquiry or the tribunals, explaining how they have been ripping us off for decades, the other half have the audacity to lecture us on the need for pay restraint."