Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) president Jack O'Connor has said if the current public pay talks with Government collapse, it will not be possible to camouflage the reasons why.
Speaking in advance of public sector pay talks resuming tomorrow, Mr O'Connor said what had changed since the last pay talks collapsed in December was that independent mediators would be able to record the position of the parties.
The new talks, which are to be facilitated by senior officials of the Labour Relations Commission, began on Friday. Unions were preparing to step up their six-week old dispute over pay cuts introduced in Last December's budget.
The increased campaign was to have included a series of work stoppages in the weeks ahead which would have hit schools, hospitals and public services.
Speaking on RTE Radio One's This Week programme, Mr O'Connor said there would not be an escalation of industrial actions during the talks.
"But we have to be conscious of the fact in the trade union movement that we called off action in March of last year and in December of last year and it lead to nothing," he said.
Unions would continue to make plans for the kinds of protests that may be necessary in the event of a fair agreement not being forged, he said.
Mr O'Connor agreed that the Government's agenda to cut expenditure had not changed, but said what was different was that negotiations were not taking place "in the kind of pressure cooker that exists a week before a budget", and the talks were being facilitated.
"Independent mediators will be able to record the position of the parties in the event of a breakdown and it won't be possible to camouflage a break down for reasons other than that which is at issue between the parties," he said.
Ibec director Brendan McGinty said it would be a significant measure of good faith if unions ceased their current action.
"Any meaningful talks should take place on the basis that all industrial action has ceased," he said.
