Three of Ireland's public sector unions have announced they are to seek their members' support for a merger that would create the State's second largest union.
IMPACT, the Civil Public and Service Union (CPSU) and the Public Service Executive Union (PSEU), said today their executive councils had backed a motion that will be presented to their respective conferences in the coming months.
The PSEU conference is being held in late April, while the CPSU and IMPACT both hold conferences in the third week of May.
Should the motion be passed by union members, talks on a merger to create a 72,000 strong union will begin immediately and last an estimated two years.
The outcome of the talks would then be presented to the three unions' conferences in 2006.
IMPACT has over 50,000 members working in health, local government, education, the civil service, semi-state organisations, the voluntary sector and commercial aviation and telecoms companies. The CPSU represents over 13,000 clerical and administrative staff, while the PSEU's 9,000 members are primarily middle managers. Both unions represent staff in the civil service, semi-state sector and Eircom.
The IMPACT General Secretary, Mr Peter McLoone, said the amalgamation would develop a "forward-looking trade union organisation that maximises its industrial, financial, organisational, creative and human resources".