Members of the State's largest public-sector union have voted by a four-to-one majority to accept the proposed new social partnership deal, Towards 2016.
The ballot by members of Impact means that the union will vote to formally endorse the agreement at a special conference of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) next month.
Impact delegates will have 34 votes at the conference, nearly 10 per cent of the total, and all of these will now be cast in favour of the agreement.
Siptu, which as the biggest union will have close to 20 per cent of the votes at the Ictu conference, concluded a ballot of its 200,000 members yesterday. A result will be known by the middle of next week.
It is anticipated that Siptu's membership will have backed the agreement, given the decision of the union's national executive last month to recommend acceptance. However, the union's airports branch said yesterday that its members had voted to reject the deal by a two-thirds majority.
Towards 2016, which proposes a 10 per cent pay increase over 27 months for workers, was negotiated over several months by the social partners, including the Government, unions and employers.
New measures to underpin employment standards, continued modernisation of the public service and a range of social and economic measures are included in the agreement.
Announcing the result of his union's ballot yesterday, Impact general secretary Peter McLoone said that its members had backed the view that no other process could deliver as much for workers.
"Towards 2016 is among the best partnership deals negotiated in terms of better living standards and stronger workplace rights. We will now be working to make sure that the Government and employers stick to their side of the bargain over the coming months and years," he said.
The 10 per cent increase proposed in the deal is to be paid in four phases, while those earning €10.25 an hour or less would get an additional 0.5 per cent. An as yet unspecified increase in the minimum wage, currently €7.65 an hour, is to be implemented in January. The employment standards provisions in the deal include fines of up to €250,000, and possibly prison, for employers who flout labour laws.
Mr McLoone said that the public service modernisation package included more open recruitment and promotion, extended service hours, co-operation with the introduction of shared services and new rules on outsourcing in exceptional situations.
Staff and their unions would also have to abide by industrial relations procedures and maintain industrial peace. But the deal included safeguards to ensure that managements could not introduce massive changes without agreement, he said.
The Public Service Executive Union and the National Union of Journalists also announced this week that members had balloted by big majorities to accept the agreement.