Talks over the Vita Cortex dispute are being held at the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) in Dublin today.
The talks come in a renewed effort to resolve the long-running dispute over redundancy payments at the foam manufacturing plant in Cork.
The Vita Cortex workers occupying the plant on the Kinsale Road, Cork, last week welcomed the invitation from the LRC.
Staff who worked at the foam manufacturing firm on the Kinsale Road have been occupying their former workplace since mid-December in a dispute over redundancy payments.
The 32 employees are seeking 0.9 weeks’ pay per year of service which, they say, was agreed with the company and given to other employees who left in 2009 and 2010.
The overall worth of the redundancy payments sought are about €370,000, but Vita Cortex owner Jack Ronan has said he does not have the money to pay such a level of redundancy.
Last week, management criticised former employees at the plant for turning down a revised redundancy payments deal.
Vita Cortex said it was "extremely disappointed and surprised" by the rejection to a revised offer it made last week to bring as part of a bid to end the dispute. The company insisted it had never promised staff 0.9 weeks per year of service and said the fact that it was unable to pay even the statutory redundancy proved that the offer could not have been made.
Vita Cortex urged trade union Siptu to adopt a more realistic position and enter into meaningful negotiations. "Despite the rejection of the offer made last week, the company is committed to exploring all meaningful efforts to finally resolve the dispute," it said.