Officials in the State's largest union, Siptu, are calling on members to reject the new national pay agreement, "Towards 2016", in a move which could collapse the partnership deal.
Siptu is to ballot members on the agreement next month. A mass No vote from the 200,000-strong union would break the 10-year strategy finalised this month after almost five months of negotiations.
A number of Siptu representatives were joined yesterday by officials from the Communication Workers' Union (CWU), the ASTI and the Irish Nurses' Organisation (INO) in calling for a rejection of the deal.
The union activists, voicing their own opinions, said the deal, which offers workers a 10 per cent pay rise over 27 months, would allow wages to be overtaken by inflation. They said workers would be denied the right to local bargaining while employers would have recourse to an "inability-to-pay" clause.
Des Derwin, president of Siptu's electronic and engineering branch, said: "Shop stewards should reject 10 per cent over 27 months, which amounts to 4.4 per cent a year, and put in a claim for 10 per cent for this year and negotiate from there."
Kieran Allen, of Siptu's education branch, said the congress had brokered an "inadequate deal" with Government without consulting unions, and was not making members aware of the terms of the agreement.
INO vice-president Jo Tully said it was "beyond belief" that the Ictu had agreed to a deal that would force nurses to work under protest even if conditions in hospitals deteriorated.
Former ASTI president Pat Cahill was also confident the deal would be rejected, while CWU representative and Dublin city councillor Joan Collins said workers could not accept the "inability-to-pay" clause. Siptu will hold a special delegate conference next week before its national executive decides whether to issue a recommendation on the agreement to members. A ballot on the agreement will begin on July 10th.
The ATGWU and Impact trade unions clashed yesterday over support for the agreement.
Impact general secretary Peter McLoone said "Towards 2016" was among the best deals ever negotiated for workers.
However, the ATGWU's regional secretary Michael O'Reilly insisted average earners would be just "a few euros a week" better off after tax and inflation, while the low-paid provision would amount to just 80c per week.
Mr O'Reilly also criticised the lack of a local bargaining clause.
"When companies claim to be doing poorly they can refuse to pay the agreed wage increase. However, when they are prospering, they can refuse workers a fair share of that growth. Employers are not only getting two bites at the cherry, they're getting the whole cherry!"
He did, however, welcome the new labour inspectorate and legislation to protect workers from job displacement.
He added: "With workers in several sectors negotiating wage increases beyond that proposed in the new pay deal, the agreement is already becoming an empty shell.
Mr McLoone said claims of growing opposition towards the deal were "simply wrong".
"In the last week the elected executives of three of the largest unions - Impact, the TEEU and Amicus - have recommended the deal to their members, as has the largest teaching union, the INTO."
It was nonsense to suggest that, if rejected, the package could be renegotiated. "This argument is coming from people who were against a partnership deal even before negotiations began."