Members of the State's second- biggest union have voted to back the new social partnership programme, Sustaining Progress, by a nine-to-one majority.
The decision by IMPACT members was expected, but the size of the margin, with 89 per cent supporting the programme, is a boost for supporters of the deal.
Coincidentally, it mirrors the size of the vote against the deal in another union earlier this week, the TEEU.
However, the IMPACT general secretary, Mr Peter McLoone, yesterday rejected claims of a public/private-sector split among workers.
The TEEU is one of the biggest private-sector unions, while most of IMPACT's 49,000 members are in the public sector and stand to benefit from the benchmarking pay increases.
Mr McLoone pointed out that IMPACT also represented workers in the private and commercial semi-State sectors, and none of the branches concerned had voted against the programme.
IMPACT's two branches in Eircom backed the deal by margins of over 90 per cent, while its three Aer Lingus branches voted in favour by margins ranging from 53-47 to 98-2 per cent.
Mr McLoone said the union's members had backed the deal because in contained cost-of-living increases that protected living standards for all workers.
"On top of that we have delivered the full implementation of benchmarking," he said.
The proposed agreement includes pay increases of seven per cent phased in over 18 months, as well as a timetable for payment of the benchmarking increases, averaging 8.9 per cent, to public servants.
Another public service union, the Federated Union of Government Employees, has voted in favour of a margin of about 60-40.
Its general secretary, Mr Michael Coffey, said it was the first time the union, which represents non-clerical civil servants at the lowest end of the pay scale, had voted in favour of a centralised pay deal.
SIPTU, the State's largest union, concludes its ballot on Monday and the outcome will have a crucial bearing on the overall stance of trade unions.
It is expected to announce the result on Tuesday, a day before the Irish Congress of Trade Unions' special delegate conference to decide whether unions sign up to the programme.
Sustaining Progress has received the backing of the National Youth Council of Ireland, which participated in negotiations on the deal as a member of the community and voluntary "pillar". The council, which balloted its 45 member organisations over the past month, said supporting the programme was a "significant leap of faith", given its lack of definitive commitments.
It had decided to back the deal on the basis that the council would play an "essential role" in seeing it implemented.
