Up to 60 staff in Fáilte Ireland claim they have been locked out of their offices in Dublin by management in a dispute over relocation.
The staff - who work in the tourism authority's marketing division in Pembroke Row - say their work stations have been moved to the agency's headquarters in Amiens Street without adequate consultation or agreement.
Siptu - which represents the workers - described the action by management as "provocative" and said its members had placed pickets on Fáilte Ireland's Baggot Street and Pembroke Row offices.
Siptu branch branch organiser Owen Reidy said: "This type of aggressive action by Failte Ireland's management is unprecedented in the non-commercial State agency sector."
But Fáilte Ireland rejected the claim that workers had been locked out of their offices and described the union's actions as "disproportionate, unnecessary and not in accordance with a Labour Court decision".
A spokesman said the staff had been fully consulted about the relocation, which was part of an overall plan to amalgamate all the agency's divisions in one centralised office.
He said the Labour Court had issued a binding agreement last year that the marketing function was to move to Amiens Street.
The relocation was originally scheduled for December 11th last, but Fáilte Ireland postponed the move to allow meaningful dialogue to take place, the spokesman said.
Mr Reidy of Siptu said the dispute "could have been avoided if the authority's management had engaged meaningfully with Siptu on the proposed relocation
"Industrial relations in Fáilte Ireland are at an all-time low. Morale in the marketing division has hit rock bottom - with union members feeling alienated from senior management."
