About 6,000 staff in the ESB are set to be offered pay increases of 5.5 per cent over two years as well as a lump sum payment of €2,750.

The proposed new offer, which has emerged from a mediation process, followed on from the rejection by the group of unions in the ESB earlier this year of a deal recommended by the ESB Joint Industrial Council, worth 5 per cent over 2.5 years.

The new proposal would see staff receive 2.75 per cent from this month and a further 2.75 per cent in August 2017 as well as a lump sum of €2,750

Staff at the ESB received a 2 per cent wage increase in April 2015.

Details of the proposed agreement were published on Thursday in Industrial Relations News, which said unions considered the €2,750 lump sum to effectively represent payment for a period from April 2014 to March 2015 when a pay freeze was in place for staff in the company.

It suggested that the one-off lump sum payment was worth about 4 per cent to staff.

In a statement ESB said negotiations between company and unions concluded on Thursday “ resulting in the development of a proposal issued for the consideration of both parties by the independent facilitator on Monday.”

“ESB has no further comment to make at this time.”