The first day of talks on a national wage agreement are drawing to a close this evening. Under the terms of partnership, talks will continue until Friday evening.
Unions are hopeful that low income workers can be protected, but employers this afternoon said everyone must be treated equally.
MANDATE, SIPTU, the CPSU and others are hopeful that those earning lower grades of pay will not be subject to a pay freeze. Going into the talks this morning, the CPSU said a pay freeze for low earning civil and public servants is a complete non-runner.
That union has suggested a pay freeze for those earning over €50,000 and unions says those on low incomes must be dealt with fairly in this round of negotiations.
But this afternoon the employers body IBEC said a pay pause is necessary given the state of the economy. IBEC's Brendan McGinty said a separate wage agreement for the low paid is not credible or tenable.
He said employers under major financial stress at the moment could not meet an agreement on increased pay for low income earners.
