Luas staff will receive pay increases of up to 13% by September 2019 under new pay proposals issued by their employer Transdev.

However, the company has warned that if the proposals are not recommended by internal representatives, and accepted by Monday, the offer will be taken off the table.

The new proposals were circulated to the three non-driver grades who have been engaged in talks with management this week.

Management is not due to meet the drivers until Monday but has made it clear that the same proposal will be put to them.

As yet it is unclear how drivers will react, or whether the non-driver grades will back the deal.

The new pay proposals would see an increase of 10% in phased payments for all staff by 2019 with an additional long service increment bringing the total potential increase to over 13%.

Staff will also receive a once-off "lead-in" payment of €750 payable at the end of this year.

However, the proposals retain the right of management to cut the pay scales for new entrants.

This has been strongly criticised not just by Luas employees, but also by SIPTU President Jack O'Connor.

Workers will also have to deliver productivity concessions.

If workers reject the latest proposals, and if the drivers do not do a deal next week, the next strike is due on Thursday, 28 April - with further action scheduled in May.

SIPTU organiser John Murphy has said that union shop stewards will recommend proposals offered to three non-driver Luas grades reached at local negotiations today.

He said the Revenue Protection Officers, Revenue Protection Supervisors had identified issues that they could not accept in the last set of proposals, that had emanated from the Workplace Relations Commission, including what he described as a "vagueness around productivity issues", and there was an issue of differing interpretations of the proposed bonus scheme.

Mr Murphy said he believed that worked to address those concerns.

He also said that should Transdev put retaining the right to cut pay scales for new entrants on the table at talks with Luas drivers on Monday, it would be "a major stumbling block".

In relation to the Traffic Supervisor Grade, he said this was the first time they were given a concrete set of proposals and based on the feedback from members he believed these proposals were "positive."

In relation to management retaining the right to cut pay scales for new entrants, something the president of SIPTU had previously described as regressive, Mr Murphy said that the while it had been identified by drivers as matter that had impeded a resolution the last time around, it had not been identified by the Revenue Protection Officers and Supervisors as a stumbling block.

Mr Murphy said he did not think that the grades were being decided.

He said from the outset all four grades were treated as autonomous grades that would make their own decisions and that was still the case.

He said: "It is positive the other three grades have proposals that they believe their membership should consider, we hope on Monday (on behalf of the drivers) that we can engage with the employer, but it will be up to ourselves and the driver grade committee to decide whether proposals can be brought back, and are worthy for consideration".