The Government is seeking to review all premium payments currently made to public service staff who work on Saturdays.
It has also indicated it wants a provision in a new public service pay agreement to allow it discuss the introduction of Saturday working in sectors where this does not occur at present and where there is a business case for such staff working on that day.
At present thousands of healthcare staff and gardaí receive a special additional payment of about €15 per day for working on Saturdays.
The proposals for the review of this payment were put forward by Government representatives at the fifth day of talks with trade unions and representative organisations on a new public service pay accord on Friday.
It is understood unions rejected completely any suggestion of reviewing the existing Saturday premium payments.
Union sources said they were at the current talks to secure pay restoration for staff, not to agree provisions which could see Government employees lose money.
Sources said unions argued on Friday that there already was flexibility for management to make cases for staff to work on Saturday when required and that this had happened in the past.
Union sources said it was not necessary to include such a provision in a new national agreement.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform said it would not be making any comment while the current talks on a new public service agreement were underway.
Meanwhile the start of planned talks on recruitment and other employment issues in the health sector, which were scheduled to take place on Friday afternoon, were delayed as a result of an internal row between trade unions.
It is understood some unions which are affiliated to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions objected to the presence at the meeting of the Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) . The PNA is not an affiliate of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
One union source said it was the position of the public service committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions not to negotiate in groups containing unions which had chosen not to affiliate to the trade union umbrella organisation.
It is understood that the position of the PNA is that it should be allowed to attend broader sectoral talks on health service issues irrespective of whether it is affiliated to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
