The Labour Relations Commission (LRC) could be asked to intervene in the pay dispute between unions and Eircom if staff vote for industrial action.
Steve Fitzpatrick, general secretary of the Communications Workers' Union (CWU), said balloting of members would take about two weeks. If workers support the motion to take action, he would then issue the company with two weeks' notice of its intentions, while sending a copy to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and the LRC.
"I would write to the chief executive of the LRC and that body could then call us in for talks," Mr Fitzpatrick said.
Eircom has withheld a 2 per cent pay increase which was due on May 1st under the terms of the national wage agreement.
Mr Fitzpatrick expressed his disappointment at a lack of direct communication from Eircom management. He criticised Rex Comb, Eircom's chief executive, for conducting media interviews and writing directly to workers but not engaging with the unions.
A spokesman for Eircom denied this. "We have offered to meet with the unions at any time over the past two weeks."
Eircom is seeking changes to work practices in what it has described as a move to improve its customer service. It has asked the union to sign a detailed memorandum of understanding which outlines the changes that Eircom wants to make.
It has refused to pay the 2 per cent increase due under Towards 2016 until the memorandum is signed.
Mr Fitzpatrick said there was no basis under the national wage deal for preconditions to be placed on pay increases. The union was not prepared to enter into talks until this precondition was lifted.
The Eircom spokesman described the memorandum as merely a "starting point" for discussions.
Mr Fitzpatrick said the changes being sought by Eircom indicated that the company could split its network from its retail operations.
He cited the recent Programme for Government, which includes a line stating that the Government would "encourage the separation of Eircom's network from its commercial retail business into a separate entity to be regulated by ComReg, on a fully open-access and transparent basis".
"If I signed up to the memo I would be accepting that the company could do anything up to and including separating the network from the retail side," said Mr Fitzpatrick.
Babcock & Brown, which owns Eircom, has denied it is planning to split the company in two.
Eircom is due to hold a board meeting at the end of next week. Mr Fitzpatrick said the union would ask the three Employees Share Ownership Plan (Esop) members on the board to make representations on its behalf to chairman Pierre Danon.
The Esop, which comprises about 14,000 current and former workers, owns 35 per cent of Eircom.
