New proposals aimed at averting a major industrial dispute over the Government's decentralisation programme are to be put to Civil Service unions next week.
Unions have threatened to block the programme unless the Government withdraws a plan to restrict promotions in the Civil Service to staff willing to move to decentralised offices.
Minister for Finance Brian Cowen told Cabinet colleagues this week he is prepared to impose such a measure if agreement on the issue is not reached soon.
At a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Mr Cowen told colleagues his department would be drawing up new proposals relating to decentralisation and promotions, and that a mandatory system could be proposed if the new proposals were rejected by the unions.
These proposals are to be put to unions next Wednesday at a meeting of the decentralisation subcommittee of the Civil Service general council.
One union has already reached agreement on the promotions aspect of decentralisation. The union representing higher-grade public servants last night voted by a large majority to endorse a proposed compromise deal with the Department of Finance.
At the annual conference of the Public Service Executive Union in Bunratty, Co Clare, delegates voted by two to one in favour of the union adopting a 26-page decentralisation paper detailing the compromises with the department.
Meanwhile, other union leaders reacted with caution yesterday to the suggestion that Mr Cowen was preparing to impose a promotions policy in the event of a continuing failure to reach agreement.
Civil Public and Services Union general secretary Blair Horan said there were problems but they had not yet turned into a crisis. His union had agreed a protocol with the Department of Finance on the arrangements for transferring staff who would be moving to decentralised offices.
It would not be implementing this agreement, however, until the promotions issue was resolved.
Association of Higher Civil and Public Servants general secretary Seán Ó Riordáin said it appeared that Mr Cowen was "preparing to impose" a solution with regard to promotions.
The row over promotions is not confined to the Civil Service. Staff at the head office of Fás, the State training and jobs agency, have reacted angrily to a policy of restricting promotions to those willing to move to its proposed new headquarters in Birr, Co Offaly.
The agency plans to complete the move to Birr by Easter 2009, but only five of its 400 head office staff have expressed a willingness to move to the new location.