SIPTU delegates have voted overwhelmingly to go into the next national wage talks.
A meeting of Ireland's largest trade union is under way in Dublin.
Up to 500 delegates are present to set out an agenda for the negotiations, including pay increases well ahead of inflation, and legislation on agency workers and union recognition.
This morning, the conference heard that workers are taking home less pay today in real terms than they were before the last national wage agreement.
Towards 2016 awarded workers 10% over 27 months, but SIPTU's head of research Manus O'Riordan said inflation had more than eroded those increases.
He said that the rate of inflation over the period of Towards 2016 totalled 11.7%. As a result, he said the average worker is taking home 1.2% less in real terms than before Towards 2016 commenced.
He said low paid workers had suffered an effective pay cut of 0.7%.
Mr O'Riordan also said that pay for managers and senior staff was rising faster than that of production, transport and manual workers.
He warned that the union should not tolerate any attempt to amend the basis on which inflation was calculated, which could exclude items like mortgage costs.
Proposing the motion to enter talks, SIPTU Vice President Brendan Hayes outlined the union's agenda for the pay talks, including pay increases ahead of inflation, equal treatment for agency workers, improved rights to union representation, better pension provision and the protection of public services.
Delegates voiced anger about calls for pay restraint at a time when senior politicians were receiving huge pay increases.
Others expressed concern about rising unemployment, privatisation and the erosion of public services.
Meanwhile, the employers' lobby group IBEC warned that pay could not chase inflation as this would place jobs at risk while the country is facing the biggest economic challenger for 20 years.
Workers' fears will be fuelled by a report published today by the UNITE trade union.
It claims Irish private sector wages are now 25% below average wages for the top 10 EU member states.
Like SIPTU, it wants pay increases substantially ahead of inflation, just as employers complain they are facing a global downturn.
