An overwhelming 91 per cent of workers at aircraft maintenance company Shannon Aerospace, have voted in favour of industrial action.
The threatened action, including strike, is in pursuit of the final two phases of Sustaining Progress due since 2005. The company is one of the midwest's largest employers,.
Workers at the Lufthansa-owned plant based at Shannon airport, which employs 800 staff, were balloted this week for industrial action.
According to Siptu branch organiser Mary O'Donnell, Shannon Aerospace has been very profitable for the last six years and staff believe it is outrageous that it should seek to reduce the pay of the people who create that profit.
In July, the Labour Court recommended that both sides meet in an effort to resolve the issue. However, according to the union, the company has offered nothing which would satisfy workers.
The court also accepted the findings of a report outlining the potentially perilous financial position faced by the firm if work practices did not change.
A spokesperson for Shannon Aerospace said: "The company requires cost offsets to enable it to pay the last two phases of the national agreement Sustaining Progress. An independent assessor examined these issues and reported last January that 'in all these circumstances I believe that the company is entitled to and needs off-setting costs'."
According to the company, "one customer has decided to withdraw the next aircraft due into Shannon Aerospace".