Management and union representatives at Aer Lingus are to meet the National Implementation Body (NIB) today in a bid to avert a dispute which threatens to cause severe disruption to flights from next week.
The NIB, the State's industrial relations trouble-shooting body, intervened last night to ask the company and Siptu to meet it at 8.30am today.
Siptu has served notice on Aer Lingus that it will engage in rolling four-hour work stoppages on Tuesday and Friday next week in protest at moves by the airline to implement a €20 million cost-cutting plan.
The union has also applied to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions for an all-out picket at the airline.
This followed a warning by Aer Lingus management that it will suspend 1,800 ground operations staff and cabin crew, who are members of Siptu, from next week unless they provide written undertakings that they will not take part in industrial action planned by the union.
The NIB intervention was the only sign of movement on an otherwise grim day yesterday for the airline and its staff, as internal relations at the company appeared to deteriorate.
Staff walked out of three separate meetings with the airline's chief executive, Dermot Mannion, who addressed individual gatherings of baggage-handlers and check-in staff, catering employees and, finally, head office staff.
In each case, workers assembled only to walk out of the meetings as soon as Mr Mannion started to speak.
"It was a deliberate protest at what the company is doing," said a Siptu spokesman, who added the union had no involvement in the meetings and had not instructed members to walk out.
"I don't think he got past 'Good morning' at the first meeting and he didn't get to say much more than that at the others," said the union's spokesman.
"I understand the vast majority at the other meetings did what happened at the first meeting," he said.
An Aer Lingus spokeswoman would not comment on the walkouts. "Mr Mannion made himself available to the staff for any questions, and he was available to answer any questions and queries. Those meetings went ahead as scheduled," said the spokeswoman.
Aer Lingus staff are upset about the impact of cost-cutting measures proposed by management.
A pay freeze was introduced in October and, earlier this month, the airline announced that the contracts of temporary staff would be terminated in January and all new staff would be employed on revised terms.
Siptu says the staff will have to work longer hours and will be up to €4,000 worse off under the new arrangements.
A union spokesman said that anger at Mr Mannion is compounded by the fact that his own pay continues to rise while he is asking staff to tighten their belts. He would receive a bonus of €581,000 if he achieves cost-cutting targets, the union claims.
"It's a bit hard to stomach being told to take a big pay cut when he's getting a pay increase. He has a vested interest in pushing this through," said the Siptu spokesman.