Taoiseach Brian Cowen said today the Government has not contemplated any public sector pay agreement other than the deal formulated at Croke Park a fortnight ago.
Speaking in Roscrea, Co Tipperary this afternoon, Mr Cowen asked union representatives to reflect on the deal, which he said provided income stability and job security for union members.
"The Government have not contemplated any other arrangements other than we support this deal," Mr Cowen said.
Asked about a Sunday newspaper report that 8 per cent pay cuts could be introduced if the deal was not accepted, Mr Cowen said the situation was that the Croke Park agreement would be put to all members of the "various constituent trade unions" in the public sector.
People should not assume the outcome of a democratic process, he added.
Meanwhile, the executive of Civil and Public Services Union (CPSU) has unanimously decided to recommend a rejection of the public service pay deal to members in a forthcoming ballot.
The 13,000 membership of the union is to vote on the deal over the next two to three weeks. Full-scale industrial action - including in the Passport Office - will resume if members vote against the deal.
Industrial action by CPSU members over the pay cuts caused chaos to services at the Passport Office several weeks ago. However, this type of action was suspended after the Croke Park agreement.
CPSU general secretary Blair Horan said yesterday union members were deeply unhappy that there were no guarantees in the deal reached at Croke Park.
PDforra, the association representing members of the Defence Forces, said this evening its national executive would recommend rejection of national agreement in a forthcoming ballot. General secretary Gerry Rooney said the executive believe the deal "offers no guarantees in relation to the recovery of pay lost through cuts or the pension levy or indeed that there would be no further cuts."
Seven unions – CPSU, Impact, TUI, ASTI, PDforra and Unite – have now either recommended rejection of the proposed agreement to members or said they could not endorse it.
The executives of the PSEU, the INTO and the Association of Higher Civil and Public Servants have supported the proposal.
The national executive of Siptu, the country’s largest union, is to consider the deal tomorrow. Siptu’s health service division backed the agreement at a meeting last week.