Officers at Irish Ferries have voted for industrial action following the company's decision to use "low-cost crews" on routes to France.
Following a meeting between the Seaman's Union of Ireland (SUI) and SIPTU at the ICTU office in Dublin today it was confirmed that both unions will meet with representatives from the company on Monday afternoon.
A decision to ballot other staff grades in the company has not yet been taken, although Mr Bobby Carrick, general secretary of the Seamens' Union of Ireland said this could happen if next week's talks were unsuccessful.
The SIPTU-represented marine officers took the decision to ballot for industrial action a couple of weeks ago after the company announced it planned to lay off or relocate 150 people from its Ireland/France route.
This follows the decision to outsource the crew of the MV Normandy, which operates on the Rosslare-Cherbourg and Rosslare-Roscoff routes.
The company has a voluntary severance package on offer for employees who wish to leave the company and says it will move staff who wish to stay with the company to other Irish Sea services.
Irish Ferries has seen the volume of passengers on its services to France drop by seven per cent and said such losses could not be sustained.
The unions are seeking Government assistance to help Irish Ferries compete in a market where one of its major rivals, Brittany Ferries, is heavily subsidised by the French government.