The National Implementation Body (NIB) has recommended that management and unions at Aer Lingus undertake intensive negotiations immediately with the help of the Labour Relations Commission to resolve the dispute over proposed changes in work practices at the airline.
In a statement this afternoon, the Government's industrial relations watchdog said the dispute should be referred to the Labour Court if there was no resolution by March 1st.
The NIB was asked to intervene in the dispute by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions amid the threat of industrial action by staff who are objecting to proposed changes in working practices.
Unions say the changes - some of which refer to holiday and overtime pay and grading structures - have not been agreed with workers.
The measures were outlined by management in December as part of a radical cost-cutting programme aimed at making the airline more profitable.