The trade union Impact is to ballot its members for industrial action over the Government's plan to decentralise over 10,000 civil service jobs from Dublin.
In a statement, the union said the Government has failed to deliver on assurances that their jobs, working conditions and careers would be protected.
A meeting of the union's decentralisation sub-committee today decided to ballot staff in a number of Government departments and offices.
Impact said the ballot "is likely to lead to a phased withdrawal of co-operation with the decentralisation programme".
National secretary Louise O'Donnell said the union would initially ballot staff in the Department of the Environment, the Prison Service, Ireland Aid, the Valuation Office, Geological Survey Ireland, Agricultural Laboratories and Place Names.
If industrial action goes ahead, Impact members will refuse to co-operate in the move to new locations and with the hiring and training of new staff for decentralised offices. They will also refuse to co-operate with drawing up job descriptions for decentralised jobs where existing staff have chosen to stay in Dublin.
"A withdrawal of co-operation by Impact would be a further serious blow to decentralisation because the union is the sole representative of specialist civil servants, on whom many departments and offices depend," Ms O'Donnell said.
Other Government departments may also be balloted on strike action if assurances on jobs and careers are not forthcoming, Impact warned.
Ms O'Donnell said the Government's "unwillingness to address specialist staff concerns" had fuelled frustration among Impact members.
"It's becoming increasingly unrealistic to expect staff to co-operate with a programme that could leave them without careers or even useful work."
Impact says only about 15 per cent of specialist staff have opted to relocate under the programme announced by then Minister for Finance Brian Cowen in the Budget nearly three years ago.