ESB workers at Moneypoint power station in Co Clare will hold a protest tomorrow over the sacking of a Polish shop steward and another union activist by a contractor working on a major project on the site.
It is not yet clear whether power cuts will take place as a result of the protest.
The Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU) claims ZRE Katowicz tried to fly the two employees back to Poland yesterday.
Minister for Labour Affairs Tony Killeen
ZRE Katowicz was recently in the news for allegedly paying 63 fitters and welders on the Moneypoint contract € 5.20 an hour, in breach of employment laws and of a registered employment agreement under which they should have been paid more than three times that amount.
TEEU regional secretary Pat Guilfoyle said ZRE refused to meet the union when he arrived on site with the sacked workers this morning.
"I then met with the ZRE employees to carry out an industrial ballot. I didn't proceed because a ballot must be held in an environment free of fear and intimidation.
"The company had made it clear to our members that anyone participating in a ballot that resulted in industrial action would be sacked and sent back to Poland immediately," he claimed.
"I then met the TEEU shop stewards in the power station and told them of the situation. They decided to support their dismissed Polish colleagues, and they met with workers from all the unions in Moneypoint, who supported them fully in their stance. A public protest has now been organised for tomorrow morning to highlight the victimisation and intimidation of union activists."
Mr Guilfoyle said this was "a moral issue outside the industrial relations framework".
"Shop stewards at Moneypoint have been monitoring the situation at ZRE since it first emerged and are deeply unhappy at the way it has been handled. They've had it with the fine words from the Government, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, from the ESB and from everyone else.
"The situation is that three men with young families, one of whom has 26 years service with ZRE, have been dismissed for demanding pay and conditions they are fully entitled to," he said.
The Moneypoint workers will hold a public protest tomorrow, and Mr Guilfoyle said they would continue to protest "until justice is obtained for their dismissed colleagues". He added that the workers expected support from other power stations during the day.
ZRE recently criticised what it said was "misinformation" about its workers' rates of pay and conditions of employment.
It said its Moneypoint workers received a basic monthly salary of €1,300 net of all deductions and taxes. Their gross monthly salary included about €800 in expenses incurred by the company on the employees' behalf, it said.
Minister for Labour Affairs Tony Killeen expressed surprise at ZRE's decision to terminate contracts of some of its workers.
"I would urge all parties to negotiate a settlement of this potential dispute and to use the services of the Labour Relations Commission to facilitate an early resolution to this issue," the Minster said.
A spokesperson for ESB was not immediately available for comment.