Trade union Unite has said today it will co-operate with the introduction of the Croke Park pay deal, despite its members voting against the pact.
The move announced today, coincided with a decision by secondary teachers that they too would enter discussions with the Department of Education about aspects of the pay deal.
While the ASTI executive reaffirmed its opposition to the deal, it agreed to begin discussions on proposed changes to the teaching contract and other aspects of the pay deal. Only last Monday ASTI members voted decisively to reject the deal
Both moves follow the ratification of the deal by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions' Public Services Committee by a margin of almost two to one, earlier this month. Overall the members of nine unions had rejected the agreement in ballots but they were outvoted on the committee by 10 unions which had accepted the deal. In a card vote, the deal was backed by 1,899 votes to 986.
Today, Unite officials insisted the decision to enter the agreement's implementation process was taken to protect its workers from victimisation.
Regional secretary of Unite Jimmy Kelly said the union remained convinced the pay and reform proposals offered a poor deal for its 6,000 public sector members, but the reality was that the union did not have a big enough say within Congress's public service committee to block it.
"I think members will be disgusted that the deal is going through, but we don't have the numbers within the group of public sector unions to change that decision," Mr Kelly said.
"We weighed up withdrawal from the public sector committee but (today's) meeting voted instead by a majority that we would be better inside the implementation process fighting for our members' and all public sector workers' rights."
Impact, the largest public sector union, and Siptu, the largest union, both threw their weight behind the deal.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives' Organisation, the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland and the Teachers' Union of Ireland joined in fighting the agreement.
Craft workers from the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU) and lower-paid public servants with the Civil Public and Services Union have also refused to back the pact.
The agreement, negotiated by senior trade unionists and Government trouble-shooters under intense pressure at GAA headquarters more than two months ago, sets out plans to freeze pay until 2014. It also sets out proposals to reverse pay cuts and a Government commitment to avoid compulsory redundancies.
Mr Kelly warned there was still time for the agreement to fall apart. "This will have to be discussed with local representatives and management over the coming months about how to implement it - there could be serious difficulties," he said.
"We will make sure that management across every sector behave in a structured and agreed manner to any element of change and that bullying or forcing through of management initiatives beyond this agreement are met with a withdrawal from the process and a ballot for industrial action."
