Talks between the Government and public sector unions on cutting the public sector pay bill resumed at Government Buildings today.
After a day of widespread disruption, public services returned to normal.
However, if there is no agreement by next Wednesday there will be a second nationwide stoppage on 3 December.
The intensive talks will focus on a long-term transformation agenda for the public service, along with short-term mechanisms to cut the pay bill by €1.3bn in 2010.
Arriving for the negotiations, ICTU Public Services Committee Chairman Peter McLoone said the real deadline for the talks was not the threatened public service strike on 3 December, but the Budget on 9 December.
Mr McLoone said they had to find a basis to agree an alternative to the course of action that the Minister for Finance was intent on.
He said that he expected the Government to provide proposals containing more detailed figures over the next 24 hours.
John White of the teachers' union, the ASTI, said he hoped everyone could take a step back to try to resolve this extremely difficult problem.
Yesterday, Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan told the Dáil that public servants enjoyed a job security and a guaranteed pension that was unique in the workforce at present.
