Siptu shop stewards and representatives at Aer Lingus will meet today to consider new moves aimed at averting industrial action at the airline next Monday.
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions and the employers' body Ibec yesterday provided clarifications to Siptu on their proposals for dealing with a dispute which could lead to widespread disruption at the airline.
The two organisations had proposed a new talks process aimed at resolving the dispute over how a €748 million deficit at the pension scheme, which covers staff at the airline and the Dublin Airport Authority, should be tackled.
On Monday, Siptu shop stewards declined to withdraw strike notice served on Aer Lingus and sought clarifications from Congress and Ibec regarding their proposals.
In particular the union was opposed to providing new productivity measures to offset the cost of investment by Aer Lingus in the pension scheme to deal with the deficit.
In a letter to Siptu yesterday, Ibec and Congress representatives said their proposals were concerned with process only and were aimed at assisting the parties to find an acceptable solution and encouraging them to utilise the State's industrial relations machinery.
"It is a matter for the parties to put forward their own issues through their participation in the process as recommended, and an acceptable outcome, voluntarily arrived at, rests with the parties.
"We did not impose preconditions on what issues should or should not be tabled by any party in finding a solution."
Congress and Ibec said they did not prescribe a timeframe for the proposed new process but said they understood all parties were anxious to reach a conclusion within the shortest time possible.