Rejection of the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness would be a major setback for social inclusion, Mr Mike Allen, the general secretary of the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed, has warned.
He was speaking after a special delegate conference of the INOU voted overwhelmingly for the deal yesterday.
Mr Allen declined to comment on the trade union debate between supporters and opponents of the PPF. "We were looking at it from the perspective of what's in it for us. As far as we're concerned it is not a wage deal," he said.
"The vote was almost unanimous in favour because of the size of the package, £1.5 billion, three times the previous package. The INOU would like to see it ratified by all the social partners. It would be a major setback for social inclusion if it was rejected by any of the other pillars."
The main elements of the PPF's social inclusion package are a move towards a target of £100 a week as the basic social welfare payment, and a £200 million package on housing, education, training, health, disability and helping the Traveller community.
Other items include a special investment plan for the State's 25 most disadvantaged communities and a childcare framework to help parents, including those at work.
Mr Allen said the setting of targets meant the INOU had plenty of campaigning work still to do. Achieving the £100 a week social welfare target alone would require increases of £8 in each of the next three budgets.
The chairman of the INOU, Mr Barrie McLatchie, said Mr Allen and his policy staff had delivered a deal which would make a meaningful difference to the lives of all the unemployed.
The INOU has no vote at the special delegate conference of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions on March 23rd.
Mr Allen is to become general secretary of the Labour Party later this month, and Mr McLatchie paid tribute to the work he had done for the unemployed over the past 12 years.