E-mail communications will cease today at Forfas, IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland as 750 SIPTU staff up the ante in their industrial dispute over the grading of pay levels. All communication with Government departments has been cut off by the union staff since Monday and there has also been a general black out on telephone contact with the outside world. By yesterday there had been no change in the positions adopted by management and the SIPTU staff who form about two-thirds of the 1,100 staff in the agencies.

A Department of Finance spokesman said there was no comment to make except that "discussions are ongoing".

A spokesman for IDA Ireland said SIPTU had not indicated that they would go to the Labour Court "on a joint basis". The Labour Court option was the only way the IDA could see the process moving forward, he said. The impasse looks set to continue, with the action spreading to a black out on computer use on Friday, after a SIPTU representative said no fresh proposals had been forthcoming from the Department of Finance, the only authority which could settle the issue.

Ms Patricia King, a SIPTU branch secretary, said the Labour Court was not an option currently. The issues had been discussed for over 15 weeks in the Labour Relations Commission.