Public sector pay talks are set to resume this morning at the Workplace Relations Commission.
The previous public sector pay agreement, Building Momentum, expired at the end of last year.
Talks before Christmas failed to reach agreement on a successor deal and public sector trade unions have criticised the slow pace of the negotiations.
The Public Services Committee (PSC) of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) is due to meet tomorrow to sign-off on the wording of ballots for industrial action.
Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe has said he wants a new pay agreement, but added that he will not be influenced by the threat of industrial action.
Last month, as part of the pay talks, the Government agreed to repeal emergency industrial relations legislation introduced during the financial crisis.
Unions had asked for the removal of the legislation claiming it had made it too difficult for individual sectors and grades to have issues addressed outside of the scope of existing pay deals.
If a new agreement is reached, it will mean a pay increase for 385,000 public servants including nurses, doctors, Gardaí and teachers.