Customer service staff at Vodafone Ireland have voted overwhelmingly in favour of taking strike action over a company decision to outsource 300 call centre jobs from next month.
Workers at call centres in Dundalk and Leopardstown voted 262 in favour of strike action with just two votes against.
The union representing the staff, the Communications Workers' Union (CWU), said it would now consider serving strike notice on the company.
The CWU said it was engaged in a process of negotiations with Vodafone but today had been given a clear mandate from workers to take industrial action.
Workers staged a number of wildcat strikes last Thursday and Friday in protest at Vodafone's decision to move 300 call centre jobs to a Newry-based company, Teleperformance, from 8 May.
The company has promised that all workers will have the opportunity to take up a job at the Teleperformance company.
However, Vodafone has admitted that this will not be possible for all workers and is engaged in negotiations with the CWU about possible redundancy packages.
The union has described the pace of these negotiations as frustrating and has called for the changeover date to be delayed until some agreement can be reached.
Vodafone Ireland said that it is disappointed that some members of the CWU are considering industrial action and that they remain engaged in consultation with the union.
