The Communication Workers Union, which represents 5,000 of the 7,000 workers at Eircom says it expects to serve strike notice on the company within the next few days.
Management at Eircom and unions ended their meeting this afternoon after just one hour of discussions on resolving the dispute over a 2% pay increase.
In a statement after the meeting, Eircom said it had presented the union with proposals for the settlement of the dispute.
But, according to Eircom, the union said it would only discuss the proposals with the company if it received a guaranteed and unqualified payment date for the 2% increase.
Eircom said it will pay the 2% increase backdated to 1 May and will pay the phase 3 (2.5%) and phase 4 (2.5%) increases outlined in Towards 2016.
But the company said the increases must be accompanied by 'documented understandings at enterprise level'.
According to Eircom, the unions did not to put forward any proposals of their own and the meeting ended.
Eircom says it is disappointed that the unions have 'failed to engage in meaningful discussion' and sees this as a missed opportunity to resolve the issue.
Members of the Communications Workers Union have already voted in favour of strike action by over 97%.
The union's national executive yesterday agreed in principle to serve strike notice on Eircom, but said it would first await the outcome of today's meeting.
The CWU said it would then consult with the other unions at Eircom, before making a decision on strike notice.
The union said it has not yet decided what form any such action would take.
Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan has called on the CWU and Eircom to avail of the state's dispute resolution mechanisms.
Eircom has said it will continue to provide service to its customers and is putting contingency plans in place in the event of industrial action.
If the strike goes ahead it will be the first at the company since 1978 and would cause significant disruption to phone and internet users.
