SIPTU President Jack O'Connor has said he expects pay increases to be achieved in the public sector when talks with the Government get under way in May.
However, the employers’ group IBEC has said any irresponsible pay increases could derail recovery and cost jobs.
The Government's spring statement is expected to include an invitation to unions to enter talks on public sector pay.
Jack O'Connor said the objective of unions was to restore cuts that people had incurred over the past five years and to prioritise those on lower pay as had been outlined in the Croke Park Agreement.
He said pay increases would help with consumer spending and therefore assist with wider economic recovery.
However, IBEC's Chief Economist said pay cuts should only be given by employers who could afford it and currently one in three of its members in the services sector was not in a position to do that.
He said the Government’s focus should be on lowering taxes and providing jobs to the 200,000 people who are out of work.
The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin had previously said there will be no pay bonanza for public sector workers.
There are indications that some but not all of their pay could be restored, but it is less clear when this might happen.
The Haddington Road Agreement runs until July 2016 and as part of that deal pay is frozen until the end of 2015.
But SIPTU said that if a deal can be done it wants workers to see the changes in their pay packets by the end of this year.
