Formal public sector pay talks between the Government and unions at the Workplace Relations Commission have been adjourned for the evening.

They will resume tomorrow.

The negotiations come after unions triggered a review clause within the existing public sector pay deal 'Building Momentum' due to rising inflation.

Arriving for today's talks earlier, Irish Congress of Trade Unions President Kevin Callinan said they were looking for fairness and a reasonable approach from the Government.

Exploratory talks between the two sides were held earlier this month at the Workplace Relations Commission.

"12 days ago, we were here and we set out the problem in very clear terms. The ball has been in the Government's court and now we are here to hear what they have to say in response," Mr Callinan said.

Under the current public sector pay agreement, workers received a 1% pay increase last year, with a further 1% due in October.

Unions have not yet said what percentage pay increase they are seeking but have said that their focus will be on the gap that has emerged between where inflation is now and where it was when the original public sector pay deal was agreed.

"As far as we are concerned, we are in a transformed situation and our members, 350,000 workers across the public service, expect fairness from this Government," Mr Callinan said.

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Michael McGrath said last week that the Government believes there is a basis to proceed and enter formal pay negotiations.

However, he said that success is not guaranteed and that the negotiations will be difficult against a challenging backdrop of global economic uncertainty and rising inflation.

Both sides have said they expect the talks to be intense and they could conclude, with or without a deal, within a week or two.

"What makes this a different negotiation is that we are reviewing the current agreement rather than negotiating a new one, so I think it is relatively straight forward, but we do need to see what the Government has in mind," ICTU President Kevin Callinan said today.