Union leaders will tomorrow outline their opposition to a Department of Finance proposal to limit promotions in the Civil Service to staff willing to move to decentralised offices.
Unions have threatened to withdraw all co-operation with the Government's decentralisation programme unless the proposal is dropped.
The Department of Finance, however, does not intend to withdraw the plan at a meeting tomorrow between its officials and union representatives.
The meeting of the decentralisation sub-committee of Civil Service general council is the first since the controversial proposal was tabled by the Department a month ago.
In a position paper put to the unions, it said promotions and related human resources practices must take account of decentralisation.
"To support the early and efficient completion of the decentralisation programme, the Department of Finance proposes that all future vacancies in general service grades should be filled by persons willing to move to a decentralised location until all decentralised posts (and any consequent vacancies in existing provincial offices) have been filled," it said.
The plan drew an angry response from unions, including the CPSU, which represents lower-ranking civil servants and is supportive of the decentralisation programme in general.
The unions dismissed the proposal as "totally unacceptable", saying it would eliminate promotion opportunities for Dublin-based civil servants for years to come.
The Department of Finance, however, has not yet taken a decision on whether to drop the proposal in light of the unions' reaction.
A spokesman for the Department said the purpose of tomorrow's meeting was to allow unions to present their response to the proposal.
There was, therefore, no question of the Department having changed its stance in advance of the meeting.
IMPACT, the AHCPS, the PSEU and the CPSU have each advised members of their strong opposition to the plan.
In a circular to members, IMPACT national secretary Mr Peter Nolan said the union had warned officials of "the consequences of any unilateral attempts by departments to block promotions for staff remaining in Dublin".
Mr Seán Ó Riordáin, general secretary of the AHCPS, which represents civil servants in management grades, said the move would make Dublin a "wasteland" in terms of Civil Service careers.
In a circular to branch secretaries, he said the reaction to the proposal of all of the relevant unions had been one of "complete opposition".
The policy of restricting promotions to those willing to decentralise is already being applied to those transferring between Government Departments, which comprises one in three jobs being filled.
The Department of Finance's current proposal would involve extending this policy to all promotions, including those within Government departments.
