REPRESENTATIVES OF the UNITE trade union met with management of the Lufthansa Technik plant in Co Dublin this morning to discuss the ongoing industrial relations issues at the company.

The Rathcoole base’s 465 employees were told earlier this week that their jobs are on the line over an overtime ban introduced by unions about three months ago after the company refused to implement part of a pay increase under the national wage agreement.

In a statement this evening, UNITE said a set of proposals had been put forward by the Labour Relations Commission as a result of the today’s meeting between management and the union.

Those proposals will be considered by the company board on Monday and if the board ratifies them, they will be put before staff next week, UNITE said. The union’s regional officer Willie Quigley said that “the week’s breakdown is now hopefully behind us.”

At the start of this week, Lufthansa Technik said its operations were suffering as a result of the curb on overtime as it was eroding consumer confidence. It said it expected trading losses as a direct result of the ban.

UNITE described the company’s announcement on Tuesday as “hasty and unhelpful”.