A new benchmarking review of public service pay is to begin next year as part of the national wage agreement, which was published yesterday.
The benchmarking body will begin its work in the second half of 2005 and is due to report two years later, under the deal agreed between unions, employers and the Government.
As a result, civil and public servants will probably be in line for a new round of benchmarking pay rises in 2008.
Prior to the review, however, unions and the Government are to examine ways of making the new process more transparent than the previous one.
Civil and public servants received pay increases averaging 8.9 per cent in the last benchmarking round, which ended in July 2002.
In arriving at its conclusions, the benchmarking body drew on data from the private sector which was not made public, giving rise to criticisms of the lack of transparency involved.
IMPACT general secretary Mr Peter McLoone said unions would seek to address these concerns in discussions with the Department of Finance. They would look to see how open they could make the process, while ensuring the benchmarking body could effectively carry out its work.
Unions believe there is limited room to manoeuvre on the issue, given that private-sector interests may only co-operate if confidentiality is guaranteed.
Benchmarking involves evaluating public service jobs and pay by reference to comparable jobs across the economy.
The Government, unions and the employers' body, IBEC, agree that the process is a better way of settling public sector pay rates than the previous system of internal relativities.
A final decision by unions on whether to ratify the new pay deal, meanwhile, has been put off until September 1st, when a special conference will be held by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
Some unions had hoped to conclude the ratification process by the end of July, but it emerged yesterday that SIPTU would not be in a position to complete its internal consultations and ballot by then.
The option of having the conference in August was ruled out by the ICTU executive council, which met yesterday.
Mr David Begg, the ICTU general secretary, said most of those present were convinced that the deal negotiated with employers last week was the best that could have been achieved. "While some were more enthusiastic than others, I think overall there was an acknowledgment that a reasonably good job had been done."
