The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) has formally agreed to participate in talks on a new social partnership agreement.
A plenary sesion of talks on a successor to Sustaining Progress are due to begin at Dublin Castle tomorrow afternoon.
A spokesman for Ictu told ireland.comthat reform of the health service would be the top priority in any new deal.
He said Congress wanted to "reshape" the way partnership deals were forged and to extend the life span of each agreement to allow policy goals to be achieved.
Ictu is understood to want a six-year agreement based on the targets established in the recent report of the National Economic and Social Council (NESC) with the pay element of any deal reviewed every two years.
It is also expected to seek the introduction of mandatory pension coverage and the replacement of the Labour Inspectorate by a new independent agency.
Yesterday Siptu, the State's biggest union, voted to support trade union entry to the talks.
Siptu president Jack O'Connor told his union's conference there was now a clear recognition on the part of the Government and employers that the displacement and exploitation issues were of real concern to workers and the wider public.
But it was only by entering talks that unions could ascertain the Government's commitment to addressing those concerns, he said.