Over 250,000 workers may be mobilised by unions to hold a nationwide stoppage next month over alleged failures by employers to pay agreed redundancy packages.
SIPTU said last night that its 260,000 members were preparing for a half-day industrial action on October 4th.
The union said the protest centres on redundancy packages that were recommended by the Labour Court for staff at the Irish Glass Bottle Company in Dublin and Peerless Rugs in Athy, Co Kildare.
SIPTU says the employers have failed to honour the agreements and are demanding Government intervention.
A number of smaller unions, including the Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians, the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union and the Building and Allied Trades Union, have voiced their support. The Irish Congress of Trade Unions is also thought to be debating joining the protest.