IARNRÓD ÉIREANN line maintenance workers in Cork, who were threatened with dismissal after waging a two-week long unofficial protest, are due to return to work this morning.
However, Siptu says it will be serving the company with strike notice 48 hours after the return of their members to work.
Fourteen workers - 11 of whom are Siptu members and three of whom are affiliated with the National Bus and Rail Workers Union - have been picketing redevelopment work on the Cork-Midleton rail line at Glounthaune for the past two weeks.
The workers are insisting that track-laying work should be exclusively their responsibility. They were protesting at Iarnród Éireann's decision to appoint an independent contractor to lay the new track on the €105 million project which is due to open next April. Their unofficial action was not backed by the unions.
The protesters faced dismissal if they did not return to work by 5pm yesterday amid fears that the dispute could spread to affect other services.
A Labour Relations Commission has already ruled that the contractor is to lay the new track, not the maintenance line workers.
Over the past two days, two NBRU workers have returned to work and the other 12 were due to report for work this morning.
A Siptu spokeswoman in Cork confirmed last night that all of its members would be returning to work this morning.
"After at least a 48-hour period to allow discussions with Iarnród Éireann to take place on the contentious issues, we will be serving the company with seven days notice," the spokeswoman said. "We will basically be reinstituting the strike notice given last July."
An Iarnród Éireann spokeswoman said last night that the protesters would be returning unconditionally to work this morning.
