Two of the country's largest civil servants' unions, representing over 22,000 workers, have voted in favour of the second phase of the Sustaining Progress national pay deal.
The Public Service Executive Union - which represents some 9,000 public sector workers - has voted by nine to one in favour of the deal, which will see them receive a 13.2 per cent pay rise over the next 18 months.
Mr Tom Geraghty, PSEU Deputy Secretary, said the union felt acceptance was the best option for its members. "We went through the first module when the economy looked like it was going into stagnation, but with 90 per cent in favour of the deal that indicates the huge support," Mr Geraghty said.
The Civil Public and Services Union - which has 13,000 members working in clerical positions in Government Departments and various semi-State bodies - also announced today it intended to support the pay deal.
Some 61.5 per cent voted to accept in a postal ballot that was counted today by the union.
The result was a reversal of the vote held on Sustaining Progress 18 months ago, in which the deal was rejected by two to one.
Mr Blair Horan of the CPSU said this was due to the fact that Sustaining Progress was seen to be linked to the Benchmarking Report. He said the union had challenged benchmarking through equality legislation and was awaiting a ruling from the Equality Tribunal.