A dispute between the National Union of Journalists and the management of Independent Newspapers has been referred to the Labour Court.
This follows a breakdown in talks between the two sides at the Labour Relations Commission on Monday. The NUJ is seeking an improved offer on pensions and pay.
The Irish organiser of the NUJ, Mr Seamus Dooley, said the company refused to come forward with any "meaningful" improvements on what was on offer and there was therefore no hope of the LRC advancing the situation. "We are seeking an early hearing at the Labour Court," he said.
The chief executive of Independent Newspapers (Ireland) Ltd, Mr Gavin O'Reilly, said he did not wish to discuss industrial relations issues through the media. However, he said talks being referred to the Labour Court was part of the normal industrial relations framework through which the company would seek to resolve all issues.
On Monday morning, journalists lifted a work-to-rule protest imposed in November. They had been refusing to co-operate with the introduction of new colour designs and picture technology linked to the company's new printing facility at Citywest in Dublin. The lifting of the ban enabled talks to proceed at the LRC.
Meanwhile, there have been a number of technical problems with the company's new printing press, which are unconnected to industrial relations issues. The problems have resulted in the late delivery of Evening Herald newspapers.
In last evening's edition the company urged readers and shopkeepers to bear with it while the difficulties were resolved.
"We would ask for understanding if there are a few glitches in getting the Herald to the shops strictly on time. The reason for the delay on certain occasions is due to the fact we have to fine-tune our new press. But we can assure you this will be sorted out shortly.
"In the meantime we would like to sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused," it said. Mr O'Reilly said it was not unusual to have "teething problems" with a new printing press. He said the difficulties were "yesterday's news" as the company had a "superb production run" yesterday.