An unofficial protest yesterday morning by 20 Polish men came to an end a few hours later when the company at the centre of the controversy agreed to talk.
The men say they lost their jobs on the construction of a €400 million project because they asked a union to represent them in a pay dispute.
The protest was staged at the entrance to the Athlone Town Centre site, one of the biggest retail developments in the country, after they were laid off by a Galway-based sub-contracting company on Monday week last.
Siptu official Pat McCabe said the men had been processing a claim for unpaid wages through the Rights Commissioner, but were told recently by their employers - Denis O'Connell Dry Lining Ltd - that their jobs might not be secure if they continued to be represented by the union.
"On Monday week last the men were stomached when they were told they were being laid off. And they got their P45s last Friday. They couldn't believe it, and they decided to stage the protest to highlight the difficulties they were having," said Mr McCabe.
"The men joined Siptu last August, and made us aware that they were being paid anything up to €5.50 per hour under the registered minimum wage for the construction industry, which is €14.71.
"There has been repeated correspondence between Siptu and Denis O'Connell Dry Lining Ltd, but the men still haven't got the money they are owed.
"Up until the time they were laid off they were still being under-paid."
Approximately three hours after the protest started, Siptu were contacted by employers' group Ibec, representing the company.
It offered to meet with Siptu and this meeting is expected to take place next Monday. The men then called off their protest.
Work was not disrupted at the plant, and Mr McCabe said the decision to protest was "made by the men".
"Siptu didn't know anything about it. But the men obviously felt they had to do something to bring some attention to the situation, and they have certainly achieved that."
Denis O'Connell Dry Lining Ltd was unavailable for comment. The company has contracts on a number of big projects in the midlands and west.
Athlone Town Centre is being built on an eight-acre site in the heart of Athlone.
The company behind it, Gallico Developments, has claimed it will turn the town into a shopper's paradise. The plans include a 161-room, four-star hotel, 163 residential units, 1,151 underground car spaces, covered streets and a covered public square.
Local businessman John O'Sullivan, who owns the Hodson Bay Hotel on the shores of Lough Ree just outside Athlone, is one of the key men behind the development.
About 500 people are employed in the construction, and it is expected that 950 jobs will be created once it is opened.