The offer of a 12 per cent increase over two and a half years represents a substantially better offer for Victorian healthcare workers than previous proposals.
Premier Jacinta Allan refused to reveal on Wednesday morning if she had personally intervened in the pay offer.
The pay proposal comes amid the launch of the 500-bed facility at Victoria University's Footscray Park campus which replaces the old Footscray Hospital, with up to 180 patients to be transferred to the new site over the course of the day.
At least 1500 workers are planning to protest outside the newly minted hospital on Wednesday.
Health Workers Union lead organiser Jake McGuinness welcomed the offer, adding it was above inflation and would allow workers to get ahead during tough times.
"That offer hasn't come through in writing yet, so we are waiting on the full detail before we can put it to members," Mr McGuinness said.
"But at initial glance it's a good and respectful offer."
Negotiations have been held with the Victorian government for more than a year, with members voting to reject previous "insulting" offers.
The union represents cooks, cleaners, orderlies, security guards, ward clerks, allied health assistants, theatre technicians and phlebotomists.
Planned industrial action, including surgery cancellations and disruptions across more than 80 health services, will continue until the offer is received in writing.
It will then be formally presented to union members for approval.
The process had been exhausting for members and hoped this offer would help move a deal forward, Mr McGuinness said.
"We've taken on the biggest campaign in this union's history," he said.
"(It's been) 14 months of drawn out action, more than three months of extended industrial action. This is our third strike.''
Ms Allan, who will face the polls in November, said the government backed healthcare workers and the proposal was made in good faith.
"We will always back our hardworking healthcare workers," she told reporters inside the new hospital.
"And as part of the negotiation process, we are now at the stage where I'm really pleased to say we have reached an in-principle agreement."
It comes as the latest Resolve Political Monitor polling published in The Age found that support for the major parties had crashed to its lowest level on record during the first two months of this year.
The polling suggests that support for Labor had remained at 28 per cent, while Victoria's coalition had dropped to 30 per cent.
