The present type of national agreement can no longer meet the needs of Irish workers or the people at large, the general secretary of IMPACT, Mr Peter McLoone, has warned.
Demands for less rigid pay structures and better public services, especially in the health area, meant the old combination of moderate pay rises and tax cuts could no longer meet people's expectations, he said.
"I am convinced that in the post-PPF (Programme for Prosperity and Fairness) discussion, people will no longer expect, they will demand, fundamental change in the quality and scope of our public services.
"They will want clear evidence that economic growth, which ordinary people and their unions have worked hard to achieve, translates not just into fatter profits for business or smug self-congratulation by politicians.
"They will want to see it translate into more and better public services, with real improvements in health services, housing provision, childcare and the eradication of inequalities across the full range of income levels."
Following comments by the Minister for Education, Dr Woods, that secondary teachers could expect special consideration if they entered the benchmarking process Mr McLoone sought a meeting with the chairman of the Benchmarking Body, Mr Justice Quirke, last week.
He told delegates Mr Justice Quirke "asserted the body's total independence in very strong terms and confirmed that all groups of workers before the Benchmarking Body will be dealt with on an equal footing, without fear or favour".
The Benchmarking Body would start its job evaluations in the public service on June 6th and take 13 weeks to examine 4,000 individual posts. The body would then commission consultants' reports on each category and make these available to unions and management for comment. Submissions would be dealt with by December 21st and the body would issue its report by the end of June 2002.